Black women at Pierce sheriff’s dept. allege discrimination

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — Three Black women who work for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department have filed a lawsuit against the county alleging a long-standing pattern of discrimination, harassment and retaliation against minority employees. The News Tribune reports Lt. Charla James-Hutchison and Sgts. Dione Alexander and Sabrina Braswell-Bouyer are the highest-ranking African American women in the department’s 168-year history. Their attorneys filed the suit on their behalf Monday, claiming that the women — who all work in Pierce County Jail — have suffered emotional distress, economic losses and damage to their reputations due to the decades of discrimination. Adam Faber, spokesman for the Prosecutor’s Office, said he cannot comment on pending litigation.