The Long Beach Police Department has settled a lawsuit filed by its first Black helicopter pilot who alleged years of racial discrimination.
According to the Atlanta Black Star, Michael Colbert, a former LBPD helicopter pilot, was recently awarded $500,000 to settle a racial discrimination lawsuit filed in December 2021.
Colbert said he was regularly subjected to racism by his coworkers and supervisors, targeted in performance reviews, and unfairly demoted and blamed for helicopter maintenance issues.
“I was ridiculed for things that I never should have been ridiculed for,” Colbert previously told the Long Beach Post. “And the constant demeaning, it tears you down.”
In a 1990 incident, a new training officer referred to a Central Long Beach neighborhood as “Ni—rVille," according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit also claims that someone once placed a banana peel on the hood of Colbert's police car. Citing a racially hostile environment, Colbert claimed that his supervisor kept a hand-drawn "blackface" sketch of a Dragon Ball character displayed in his office for years.
The Long Beach City Council voted to award Colbert $500,000 last week, but the city wasn't required to admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
“The City of Long Beach is built on respect, integrity, and equality,” Deputy City Attorney Howard Russell said, noting the city had implemented strategies aimed at Racial Equity and Inclusion. “We are committed to a safe, inclusive, and anti-discriminatory workplace and a community for all.”
Colbert joined the Long Beach Police Department in 1989, becoming its first and only Black helicopter pilot. The pilot said he began to reflect on his experiences with the department when he retired in October 2019.
The city initially filed a response to Colbert's 2021 lawsuit, saying he had exceeded the statute of limitations.
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