In their lawsuit, agents allege that the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center prohibited them from “interacting with or guarding” Chauvin, “who is white,” or from going anywhere “on the floor where he was being held. That order was issued. by the detention center superintendent, Steve Lydon, the lawsuit says.
“Lydon refused to allow plaintiffs to fulfill their professional responsibilities because of their race and the color of their skin,” the lawsuit said. “The transfer of plaintiffs and Lydon’s blatant discrimination have broken trust between employees and management.”
The lawsuit says that “after some time” Lydon met with affected correctional officers and “denied that he was racist and defended his decision,” but said he had changed his mind about the warrant.
In a statement following the initial allegations of discrimination, Lydon expressed regret over his decision to briefly ban the agents from those areas.
Recognizing that George Floyd’s murder was likely to cause a particularly acute racist trauma, I felt that I had an immediate duty to protect and support employees who may be traumatized and who may have exacerbated ongoing trauma by dealing with Chauvin, Lydon said then.
“Out of concern and concern, and without the comforts of the time, I made the decision to limit exposure to colored workers to a murder suspect who could potentially exacerbate those feelings.”
Lydon said at the time that he reversed his decision within an hour.
“I then met the individuals who were working at the time and explained to them what my thought process was at the time and assured them that the decision was made out of concern for them and in no way related to concerns about their professionalism. or Chauvin’s safety, “he added.” I realized I had made a mistake in judgment and apologized to the affected employees.
CNN has contacted Ramsey County and Lydon officials about the new civil suit but has heard nothing.