Ex-Police Chief Dennis White Says He Was Victim Of Racial And Gender Discrimination

In his first substantive court filing since being dismissed last month, former Boston Police Commissioner Dennis White alleged Wednesday that his termination was improper in part because it was a result of gender and racial discrimination against him.

White, whose tenure as commissioner was cut short after the Boston Globe inquired about domestic violence allegations brought by his ex-wife two decades ago, is also seeking a jury trial to weigh his case.

The new filing sets the stage for another potential legal showdown between the short-lived top cop and the acting Mayor and the city of Boston — this time, in federal court.

In the 106-page document, White’s legal team said the city and acting Mayor Kim Janey discriminated against him by claiming he was improperly vetted despite his vetting being the same as those of former — mostly white — police commissioners.

“The city has never subjected any other similarly situated Commissioner to the type of scrutiny and investigation that White endured,” White's lawyers wrote. “The City’s conduct demonstrates its deliberate indifference to the violation of Mr. White’s constitutional rights to equal protection.”

White’s legal team claimed further that Janey had “gender-based prejudices” which “led her to disregard the substantial evidence that [ex-wife] Sybil Mason’s allegation of domestic abuse are false” and violated White’s constitutional right to equal protection on the basis of sex.

The new filing includes an affidavit from a former tenant of Mason’s who claims Mason indicated in numerous conversations that she was angry with White and “she was ‘going to get him.’”

The filing added that the city’s investigation into White’s domestic violence allegations was “grossly negligent and biased” and could not serve as a reliable basis for his termination given that the resulting report “was replete with false allegations,” made by unidentified and unsworn alleged witnesses.

“The [a]cting Mayor and City simultaneously made statements and took actions which communicated that these ruinous allegations were true,” the filing said, adding that White suffered “significant” damages and emotional distress as a result of Janey’s “defamatory” statements.

Janey declined to comment on the pending litigation Thursday, saying in a written statement only that she is “focused on leading the city and the police department forward.”

District Court Judge Leo Sorokin has scheduled an initial court date for July 13.