North Huntingdon police officer settles racial discrimination lawsuit for $276,000

A North Huntingdon police officer will receive about $276,000 in a settlement over the racial discrimination lawsuit he filed last year against the township and a former manager.

Patrolman Albert P. Carson II will receive the payment from the negotiated out of court settlement of the lawsuit. He filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh in November against the municipality and Jeffrey Silka, the township manager who left the job in November 2021, according to the agreement filed in May.

The settlement is contingent upon Carson retiring in January and not filing any other claims against the municipality.

Carson, who was hired in 2003, is to be paid $138,410, minus taxes, for his claim of lost wages for what he claimed was the commissioners’ decision not to promote him as chief in 2018. The township had fired former chief Andrew Lisiecki in September 2016.

Carson also is to be paid a similar amount, minus taxes, for alleged emotional distress and non-wage damages. Carson, who is Black, alleged in his lawsuit he endured a hostile workplace and was the target of racial comments and jokes from fellow officers.

North Huntingdon agreed to continue to pay Carson his full heart and lung salary, health insurance and other benefits, until he retires Jan. 15.

The township also will pay Carson’s legal fees of $123,178.

Carson, who could not be reached for comment, signed the agreement June 9, and the township commissioners approved the settlement in a 4-3 vote June 15.

Harry Faulk, township manager, said the municipality is finalizing details of the settlement and declined to comment. North Huntingdon carries liability insurance that covers such legal cases, Faulk said.

Carson is to sign an addition to the agreement Jan. 24 or afterwards, agreeing to waive all claims through his last day of employment as a police officer.

The settlement states there has not been any judgment on the merits of his claims that Carson was the victim of racial discrimination when he was not promoted to chief. The lawsuit claims the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found there was “reasonable cause to believe” Carson was the victim of discrimination when he sought the job as chief and referred his case to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The board majority considered appointing Carson as an interim chief after firing Lisiecki in September 2016 meeting, but the motion was withdrawn after the commissioners returned from a closed-door executive session.

Carson alleged he was bypassed for the chief’s job in 2018 based on his race, even when the only other candidate declined to take the job. Sgt. Robert Rizzo, who was named interim chief upon the retirement of Lt. Rod Mahinske in May 2018, had not applied for the job when it initially was opened, according to the lawsuit. The commissioners named Rizzo police chief in September 2018.

Lisiecki sued the township and the four commissioners who fired him in December 2016, settling in September 2018 for $600,000. In the federal lawsuit, he claimed his constitutional right to due process was violated.