Former Police Captain Wins $350,000 Settlement

The City of Milwaukee is settling a discrimination claim from retired police captain Andra Williams for $350,000.

Williams sued the city, former police chief Edward A. Flynn and Department of Administration director Sharon Robinson in 2019 for discrimination on the basis of race and gender when he was passed over for two emergency communication management jobs in 2016.

The Common Council unanimously approved the settlement Tuesday without any discussion. It will be paid from a special settlements account.

Williams, a Black male, joined the Milwaukee Police Department in 1991, and became a captain in 2002 at the age of 33, which his official MPD biography notes made him the youngest ever to achieve the rank.

By 2016, Williams was eligible for retirement and decided to apply for two new, civilian positions to oversee MPD’s 911 dispatch operation: emergency communications director and emergency communications manager. In his role as a captain, he had overseen the operation, but the city was planning to transfer it to civilian management (as it is still working on today).

In his complaint, Williams said he ranked as the third-ranked candidate for the director job after interviewing. The first-ranked candidate, a white female, turned it down and the job was then offered to a Hispanic female who was part of the interviewing team led by Robinson and not otherwise a candidate.

The manager position initial interviews resulted in Williams being ranked first, but the job was offered to a white female ranked second. She ultimately turned down the job, and Flynn later offered the post to a white male.

Williams’ complaint alleged that Flynn, a white male, and Robinson, a Black female, filled the positions with “less qualified non-African American male candidates” and denied him an equal employment opportunity.

He would later interview for the manager job, in 2018 and 2019, under then-chief Alfonso Morales. Williams was ultimately offered the job in 2020, but turned the position down because the starting salary was too low.

“The matter has been vigorously litigated through discovery,” said deputy city attorney Robin A. Pederson in briefing the Judiciary & Legislation Committee in an open session meeting on March 14. He said the settlement was reached with the assistance of a mediator. No council member spoke on the matter in the public portion of the committee meeting, with the committee unanimously endorsing the settlement.

In October 2021, a federal judge ruled that Robinson did not discriminate against Williams on the basis of sex, but allowed the race claim against Flynn and the city to proceed.

Williams was represented by attorney William R. Rettko.

UPDATE: This piece was updated with additional information on how a judge granted summary judgment on a portion of the city’s defense.