NEW HAVEN -- Eight minority Greenwich police officers who filed a federal racial discrimination lawsuit against the town continued to tell their stories during trial Wednesday in U.S. District Court, but not without aggressive cross-examination from town lawyers.

Attorney Robert Mitchell, representing the town, grilled Officer Vincent O'Banner on his claims that he was harassed throughout his career by former Chief James Walters and later demoted from detective due to racial bias.

Two violations while he was working on a federal drug task force, not racial bias, caused O'Banner to be transferred from detective to court technician in 2004, Mitchell alleged.

"Your counsel kept referring to your transfer as a demotion," said Mitchell. "But you took that claim to the state Labor Department and they concluded it was not a demotion."

"My claim was denied," replied O'Banner, who is black.

Mitchell rehashed a string of write-ups O'Banner received, particularly fleshing out an incident in which O'Banner left his post monitoring a construction site to go to a dentist appointment.

"What you allege as racial discrimination is really just a dereliction of duty," said Mitchell.

"No," said O'Banner.

"So you think it's OK to walk away from your post without telling your supervisor," Mitchell asked.

"I don't think it's OK," said O'Banner.

The plaintiffs' lawsuit, filed in 2006, alleges that the six black and two Latino officers faced a hostile work environment as a result of their race and were subsequently denied promotions and moved to less prestigious assignments. They are trying to prove there was a policy or custom of racial discrimination in the town that directly links to each of their claims. The officers are seeking damages relating to economic and emotional distress.

The town denies the allegations and asserts the officers failed to air their grievances at the time they happened.

On day three of the trial, attorney Robert Richardson began laying the foundation for the claim that Sgt. John Rodriguez and Officers Terral Hardy, Scott Johnson, Carlos Franco and Anthony Cameron were unfairly overlooked for special assignments as a result of race.

Hardy, a black officer who has been with the department for 20 years, testified that he had been passed over for specialized assignments by younger, white officers numerous times and experienced racism within the halls of the department.

"I liked being a police officer, but I did not like being a police officer there," said Hardy, after his lawyers asked him about how the discrimination affected him emotionally. "It drags at your soul and drags you down."

In one alleged instance, Hardy said he was pulled over by a fellow officer while driving through Greenwich in plain clothes because he was black. When the officer noticed it was Hardy in the car, Hardy testified that the officer said, "Oh, it's just you," and walked away.

Mitchell, who is representing the town, asked Hardy why he didn't ever file a formal complaint about the discrimination he perceived to be going on, pointing to the police union contract that stipulates that a complaint can be filed about anything either individually or through the union's lawyer.

"Despite this language (in the contract), you never filed a grievance on any of the issues," said Mitchell.

"As I understood it, it wasn't something I could grieve," said Hardy, noting that he didn't think he was allowed to file a complaint for failing to be appointed to a post. Hardy also said he did not want to become a target like O'Banner, who was admittedly more outspoken. "You tend to pick and choose your battles."

To underscore their claim, Richardson called three supervising officers to the stand to testify about their work with the plaintiffs.

The officers stated that Johnson, Hardy, Cameron, Franco and Rodriguez were qualified for premium pay and specialized units like a youth officer or neighborhood resource officer.

Lt. John Wachowski said he worked with nearly all the officers and remembered recommending some, like Johnson, for specialized assignments.

"He would have been someone to put into that position," said Wachowski about Johnson being appointed to the field training officer position. None of the officers were appointed during Walter's term as chief.

Members of the jury also posed a question to Wachowski through writing, which U.S. District Judge Mark Kravitz read, asking how officers are informed about openings to specialized units, which also includes SWAT and traffic assignments.

"They had been through word of mouth," said Wachowski. "It wasn't like a job posting. We didn't have that kind of setup."

The lawsuit contends that Walters had the final say in appointments and passed over senior minority officers for junior white officers 34 times during his term. Six officers currently remain in patrolman rank. Detective Robert Brown and Sgt. John Rodriguez received promotions after the lawsuit was filed.

Trial continues today when the remaining plaintiffs and some of their wives will testify. The town also will call former police Captain Michael Pacewicz. The plaintiffs are expected to conclude their presentation of evidence on Monday, when the town will call the rest of its witnesses.

Staff writer Debra Friedman can be reached at