RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The final decision in a wrongful termination lawsuit against a former Wake County sheriff ended with a $1 million payout in court Thursday morning.
A U.S. District Court jury found former Sheriff Gerald Baker responsible for retaliating against former Master Deputies Gray Speight and Steven Williamson who he terminated shortly after taking office. Each man was awarded a $500,000 compensation for damages.
At this time, it is unclear who is responsible for paying the damages and if taxpayer dollars will be used.
On Thursday night, the current Wake County Sheriff’s Office administration made a statement in response to the verdict. Captain D.R. Jones said:
“The Wake County Sheriff’s Office acknowledges the recent decision regarding a lawsuit involving personnel actions that occurred under a previous Sheriff’s administration.
Despite that outcome, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office under the leadership of Sheriff Willie Rowe remains dedicated to moving forward and upholding its commitment to the highest standards of integrity and service to the citizens of Wake County.”
NewsNation affiliate WNCN’s reporting on the terminations traces back to early 2019 when Baker answered questions about his efforts to “restructure” his staff after his predecessor, Donnie Harrison, left.
The Wake County chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police came out against Baker for creating what it called a hostile work environment where officers fear reprisal for speaking out and identifying wrongdoing.
According to Wake County NC FOP Lodge No. 41 President Frank Sancineto, Master Deputies Speight and Williamson were fired after speaking out against then Lt. Teddy Patrick after he made homophobic remarks during a training seminar.
In January 2019, Baker said “That’s not true. They were terminated because I didn’t have the confidence in them to follow and implement my policies moving forward.”
On April 6, 2021, Speight and Williamson filed a lawsuit detailing their terminations and the comments from Lt. Patrick.
The lawsuit alleged that Patrick made “several homophobic and discriminatory statements about homosexual persons.” Among them were that he “didn’t believe in being gay” and identifying one of the deputies present as being gay.
It also said Patrick, who is Black, made several comments that were racially inappropriate. According to the lawsuit, he said, in effect, “If white people keep killing themselves, we black people will be the majority, instead of the minority.”
Speight and Williamson ended up voluntarily reporting Patrick’s conduct during the training to supervisors. Then-Sheriff Donnie Harrison pulled Williamson aside to discuss Patrick’s behavior. Harrison told Williamson there would be an internal investigation, the court document said.
Patrick was demoted in August 2017 after the investigation. He subsequently filed a complaint to challenge the demotion, but it was dismissed, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit also outlined a relationship between Patrick and Baker. It said the two traveled together, including trips with other deputies to the Dominican Republic.
“Upon information and belief, Patrick and Baker discussed Baker’s campaign against Sheriff Harrison, and Patrick’s demotion by Sheriff Harrison and Plaintiff, during these trips,” the lawsuit read.
After Baker won the November 2018 election for sheriff, he named Patrick to a five-person transition team. Baker then promoted Patrick to captain in December 2018, then again to major, effectively making him second-in-command at the sheriff’s office, the lawsuit alleged.
Richard Johnson, who informed Patrick of his demotion, was one of two deputies not sworn in by Baker, effectively terminating him. Baker, after taking office on Dec. 3, 2018, terminated Speight and Williamson on Dec. 21, 2018, the lawsuit said.
Speight and Williamson said they were provided no reason other than that their “services were no longer needed.”
