Jury finds Mass. State Police systemically discriminated against women and minorities 

A Suffolk Superior Court jury says the Massachusetts State Police systematically discriminated against women and minorities when it came to promotions.

The verdict was a major blow against the agency composed of primarily white male troopers and command staff. The jury on Monday ordered the state police to pay $6.8 million to the five plaintiffs.

The bulk of the award — $4.1 million — was given to lead plaintiff Lisa Butner, who spent more than 30 years at the state police and retired as a lieutenant. She repeatedly applied for, and was denied, positions within the internal affairs section; those jobs instead went to white men Butner claimed were less qualified and more politically connected than her.

In 2014, she met with the then-colonel of the state police before filing the lawsuit to talk about the pattern of discriminatory practices, including not posting open jobs. At the time, only one woman, and no minorities, were on the command staff.

Nothing changed after those meetings, Butner said.

After a month-long trial, the jury found the state police did discriminate against Butner based on her race and gender, and that the discrimination was systemic and "egregious." Four other plaintiffs also won smaller awards.

"This is really a system that was broken," plaintiffs' attorney Lisa Brodeur-McGan said. "A system that disadvantaged women and minorities in a way that did not allow doors to be open for them to even apply for jobs or even be considered for jobs."

Brodeur-McGan said just before the jury delivered the verdict, they sent a written message to the judge, asking if state police could be ordered to train on unconcious bias and selection practices. The judge, she said, told them they could only order on monetary damages.

"I think that said a lot," she said. "They knew. The jury knew that this is broken, and there's some very simple things that can be done to help fix it."

Brodeur-McGan said she wants to take that message to the state's new public safety secretary for a conversation on what can change within the state police.

In a statement, the state police said the department's policies and practices have "evolved" since the suit was first filed in 2016.

“We continue to implement promotional processes that align the department with national best practices and strengthen our workforce by elevating candidates who not only possess the necessary skills and experience, but also uphold the values essential to delivering excellent police services," the statement said.

As for whether they plan to appeal, a spokesperson said the agency is reviewing legal options with the attorney general's office, which represented the state police in the case.

This discrimination verdict is just the latest problem for the state police. Troopers administering commercial driving tests were found to be taking bribes in exchange for giving passing scores earlier this year. The Karen Read murder trial uncovered lewd and misogynistic texts sent between troopers. And an overtime fraud scheme implicated nearly two dozen troopers.