GAINESVILLE – An all-white jury handed down a more than $15 million verdict after a weeklong trial in which Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) Seargent Kevin Davis claimed racial discrimination.
The jury awarded Davis, the plaintiff, $115,724 for lost earnings David Macpherson, Ph.D., an economic expert witness, claimed Davis would have realized had he been promoted. The jury also awarded an astounding $15 million for emotional pain and mental anguish, although there were not any medical or psychological expert witnesses listed in the plaintiff’s witness list to testify to the extent of such pain and anguish. Oddly, the jury passed on awarding $54,545 in lost pension benefits that the economic expert estimated Davis lost due to the non-promotion.
Davis, a white man who has been employed with ACSO off and on since 1999, filed his lawsuit in February 2023 alleging discrimination by then Sheriff Clovis Watson, Jr.’s administration. The crux of Davis’ complaint is that less qualified black candidates at the sheriff’s office were promoted into lieutenant positions instead him. Davis claimed that although he was ranked in the top five candidates for a slate of positions, he was intentionally passed over based on his race. The defense, however, stated that at the time of Davis’ lawsuit, there had been some 150 promotions, 120 of which were filled with white candidates and approximately 30 were filled with black candidates.
Witnesses for the sheriff’s office, however, testified that Davis has specifically not been recommended for promotion. Notably, Davis had been seen as problematic, filing multiple Equal Employment Opportunity and other complaints against multiple sheriffs, both black and white. And despite Davis’ many years on the force, under several sheriffs he had not been highly promoted by any of them.
Davis also claimed that he was retaliated against when he was placed on paid administrative leave during an investigation into Davis’ potential violation of ACSO’s social media policy. Davis said this paid administrative leave was retaliation for his filing of an Equal Employment Opportunity Complaint.
Former Sheriff Watson testified that he was greatly bothered by assertions that he or his administration acted in a racially biased manner against any of his officers. Watson harkened back to his time as a former city manager in the City of Alachua where he oversaw the promotion of numerous white employees, including white men and women, who ultimately became city managers in Alachua and elsewhere around the state.
The trial began Monday, Jan. 3, 2025, with jury selection and opening statements. The plaintiff was scheduled to conclude its case by Wednesday at noon, but by Thursday at noon, it appeared that plaintiff would not rest until Thursday at 3 p.m., leaving little time for the defense, who would need to rush its case or hold the jury late into the evening and possibly through the weekend. Apparently, the court broke for lunch Friday and sent jurors out to begin deliberations. By early afternoon, the jurors returned with their surprising verdict.
The $15 million award seems unlikely to be paid out of public coffers anytime soon. It’s possible that presiding Judge Gloria Walker could reduce the award, especially if the jury had no evidentiary basis for arriving at the number. It also seems likely ACSO will appeal the decision based on numerous objections and motions raised before and during trial.
Representing ACSO, Attorney R. Wayne Evans of Allen, Norton, and Blue, P.A. in Tallahassee, Fla., was tight-lipped about the defense’s plans going forward, saying, “They put on their case-in-chief, and we put on our case-in-chief. We are considering all of our options.”
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