PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police officers have filed a class-action lawsuit against the City of Philadelphia, d/b/a Philadelphia Police Department; Cpl. Karen Church; and John Does Nos. 1-10, city government and officers, citing alleged civil rights violation and civil rights conspiracy.
Stacey Gonzalez and Pavel Reznik filed a complaint on Nov. 19 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against the defendants, alleging they have created a racist, anti-Semitic and anti-Jewish environment for the plaintiffs.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege Stacey Gonzalez and Pavel Reznik were unjustly treated on a discriminatory basis such as among others, being denied days off to celebrate Jewish holidays, being required to do cleanups after shifts when other employees went home, and receiving unnecessary comments about their faith or race. The plaintiffs hold City of Philadelphia, d/b/a Philadelphia Police Department; Cpl. Karen Church; and John Does Nos. 1-10 responsible because the defendants allegedly denied the plaintiffs the right to the same terms and privileges of their employment agreement with the City of Philadelphia Police Department.
The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek an amount to be determined, compensatory damages, punitive damages, cost of suit, expert fees and disbursements and attorneys' fees. They are represented by Brian Mildenberg of Mildenberg Law Firm in Philadelphia; Matthew Weisberg of Weisberg Law in Morton; and Gary Schafkopf of Schafkopf Law LLC in Bala Cynwyd.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Case No. is 2:18-cv-05029-CMR.