The embarrassing results of a computer search and a
round of depositions examining the private lives of two top Springfield
police officials are the final disclosures in the discovery process in a
pair of race-discrimination lawsuits filed by black officers against the
city of Springfield. Over the protests of both sides, the lawsuit filed in
2004 by SPD Lt. Rickey Davis claiming he was unfairly denied a promotion
has shifted focus from issues specifically centered on race to the
salacious topic of extramarital affairs. The case is now entwined with a
2003 suit filed by Davis and several other black officers that has revealed
the use of SPD computers to access Internet pictures deemed an
“embarrassment” to the police department by U.S. Magistrate
Byron Cudmore, who is presiding over both cases. Last week, Cudmore released a partially redacted
version of a previously sealed order indicating that plaintiffs had
discovered “computer images” on SPD equipment during the course
of their research. “Some of these computer images appear to be from
[redacted] websites,” according to the 2004 order. Parties in the
case are still prevented from explaining exactly what type of embarrassing
pictures were found on police computers. At the same time, Cudmore allowed Davis’
attorney, Courtney Cox, to publicly file deposition notices listing
Assistant Chief Ralph Caldwell and Deputy Chief Bill Rouse, their wives,
and one alleged “paramour” who were questioned in March about
whether the men had engaged in extramarital relationships during work
hours. Caldwell and Rouse declined to comment for this article on the
advice of the city’s attorney. Both have other connections to Davis’ case:
Caldwell, the second-highest-ranking officer at SPD, signed an affidavit
documenting a meeting with a woman said to be Davis’ former mistress.
That affidavit led to the city’s allegation that Davis had lied in
his deposition and in written responses when he denied having visited the
woman while on duty. Originally filed under seal, Caldwell’s
affidavit and related documents were made public last month at the request
of the State Journal-Register. Rouse is the officer who was given the promotion
Davis claims was rightfully his. The city fought vigorously to keep Caldwell’s
and Rouse’s names under seal. In motions to quash the notice,
Springfield assistant corporation counsel Jim Lang called the notice “a serious
abuse of process” and a “flagrant abuse of discovery” and
asked the court to refer the matter to the Attorney Registration and
Disciplinary Commission. Cox, however, says he would never have explored the
issue of other officers’ private lives had the city not questioned
Davis’ wife and alleged former mistress about whether he had visited
the mistress during hours he was supposed to be on duty. Once the city used
that strategy, Cox says, he had to explore whether white officers had been
absent from work for the same reasons. “The thing is, they brought up this issue. They
made it an issue,” Cox says. “What am I supposed to do? I
didn’t really want to get into any of this stuff. There’s no
place for it in the litigation.” A few hours after Cox notified city attorneys that he
planned to depose Caldwell, Rouse, and their wives, Rouse transferred Davis
from Criminal Investigations to patrol. Cox claims that this move, which
also altered Davis’ schedule from day shift to second shift (3-11
p.m.), was retaliatory. Davis, however, has never reported for his new duty.
He is on a three-month medical leave as a result of hypertension, which he
attributes to stress. “I eat right, run, work out three times a week,
ride my bike, get up and do yoga every morning,” Davis says. He says
that his doctors have recently prescribed a new medication in an attempt to
lower his blood pressure.
This article appears in Apr 27 – May 3, 2006.
