New London — The city has hired an outside attorney to investigate claims by police Sgt. Cornelius “Neil” Rodgers that he has been unfairly treated, disciplined and the target of bias investigations because of his race.

Attorney Paula Anthony of the law firm Berchem Moses, with expertise in representing employers in workplace investigations, was enlisted by the city’s law director to investigate Rodgers’ allegations.

The hiring comes as Rodgers has filed a complaint against the police department with the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities in which he alleges workplace discrimination and retaliation.

Rodgers was suspended earlier this year for 20 days for punching a handcuffed prisoner in April 2019 in the booking area of the Waterford Police Department. An internal investigation by the New London Police Department into the matter determined Rodgers’ use of force was unjustified given the circumstances.

Rodgers has argued his actions were justified because he believed the prisoner might have had a knife in his possession during a struggle in which he struck the man. Rodgers, who is African American, lodged a racial discrimination complaint with the city prior to his suspension last month, fearing he was was about to be fired.

Rodgers has worked for the department for 17 years and claims he has been the subject of biased investigations by his superiors, including Chief Peter Reichard, Lt. Robert Pickett and Capt. Todd Bergeson.

He contrasts his case with that of Officer Deanna Nott, who was suspended for seven days and criminally charged in 2018 for striking a man in the face while handcuffed in back of a police cruiser. He argues it was Nott’s second use of force incident and that she was not disciplined for the first.

Rodgers is represented by attorney Jacques Parenteau, of the New London firm Madsen, Prestley & Parenteau. Parenteau argued the city should hire an an impartial investigator and “not a law firm specializing in representing employers and municipalities when conducting this investigation of institutional racism.” He said he was disappointed in the city's choice.

“There are many reputable law firms that investigate race discrimination on behalf of employees. Even a neutral, unbiased investigator would be preferable,” Parenteau said. 

“Attorney Anthony, who was formerly an Assistant General Counsel for the City of Waterbury, advertises investigations of ‘employee misconduct’ on her website; she does not claim to investigate ‘employer misconduct’ which is the case here. We fully expect a whitewashed investigation that will continue to cover up institutional racism in the NLPD,” Parenteau said.

He indicated that Rodgers is likely to file a lawsuit.

Anthony is the senior counsel in the Labor and Employment practice group at Berchem Moses and specializes in advising private and public sector employers on personnel and employment matters. The firm has offices in Milford and Westport.

“She has a notable record of success representing management in mediation, grievance arbitration and employment litigation, as well as extensive experience in conducting workplace investigations involving employee misconduct, violation of workplace policies, and discrimination and/or harassment complaints,” according to the Berchem Moses website. 

Anthony could not be reached to comment.

“The Law Director has tremendous confidence in Attorney Anthony’s abilities to conduct a full and complete independent investigation,” Mayor Michael Passeo said in a statement.” He declined further comment until the investigation is complete.

“I hope that the investigation will be concluded within the next several weeks,” Passero said. “Unfortunately, the social distancing requirements may impact Attorney Anthony’s ability to efficiently interview people and gather information, but I have confidence that everything possible will be done to keep things moving in a positive direction.”

Michelle Dumaskeuler, an attorney and spokeswoman in CHRO’s legal division, said the CHRO investigation is pending.

New London NAACP Vice President Tamara Lanier commended the city for giving Rodgers’ civil rights complaint attention but favored an independent arbitrator to investigate the complaint. The NAACP was involved in talks with the city on Rodgers' behalf prior to Rodgers’ suspension.

“I must admit that I am troubled that the City did not consider the optics or the potential conflict in hiring a defender of Employers to investigate an Employee Complaint. Or perhaps that a ‘Civil Rights’ Attorney might be better suited to investigate a ‘Civil Rights’ Complaint!” she said in an email.  

g.smith@theday.com