Veteran Black San Diego Police Officer Says He Was Demoted and Accused of Perjury After Reporting Racist Conduct by Supervisors -- Now the City Is Paying Him $3.1 Million

A veteran Black San Diego Police Department officer, Sgt. Arthur Scott, reached a settlement this week that will pay him $3.1 million, following long-running litigation against the city. Scott, who served for 29 years, alleged racial discrimination and retaliation after reporting racist conduct by supervisors, including the use of racially offensive images and cartoons in training and locker rooms. In 2015, he filed a lawsuit describing punishment after he objected to depictions involving then-President Obama and an image tied to the department’s first Black officer, Frank McCarter, according to reporting cited in the case. A jury ruled against him in February 2017, though the city stopped using the 1909 cartoon. Scott later faced additional actions, including an internal investigation accusing him of perjury after he filed another suit in January 2023.