Keith Wildhaber, a gay police lieutenant who was told to “tone down” his gayness and passed for promotion more than 20 times received a $10.25 million settlement from St. Louis County.
However, jurors had awarded Wildhaber nearly $20 million in October 2019, but each side had a reason to negotiate because Wildhaber could have kept a large share of the award by settling, according to Time.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the agreement was finalized hours after St. Louis County police chief Jon Belmar announced his retirement.
Belmar’s leadership was called into question after the verdict, with Lisa Clancy, a democratic councilwoman, urging him to resign. Belmar’s retirement was, however, not a condition of the settlement.
Belmar promoted Wildhaber to lieutenant in December 2019, making him the head of a new diversity unit.
“This lawsuit acknowledges what Lt. Wildhaber survived in the police department and lets us move forward as a county,” county executive Sam Page said.
“I think it’s important to recognize that this sends a message to everyone in county government and to all of our employers in the St. Louis region, that discrimination will not be tolerated.”
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 69: Jamarlin Martin
Jamarlin goes solo to unpack the question: Was Barack Obama the first political anti-Christ to rise in Black America? To understand the question, we have to revisit Rev. Wright and Obama’s decision to bring on political disciples David Plouffe, Joe Biden and Eric Holder.
In April 2019, Wildhaber offered to settle the case for $850,000 plus a promotion to Lieutenant but the county refused his offer and decided to go to trial under the legal stance that the Human Rights Act does not bar discrimination against gay people.
After the trial, the jury foreman in the Wildhaber case told reporters that they wanted a big verdict to send a message. Page says that the message was received.
