COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A former Columbus police officer has filed a lawsuit against the city for discrimination in the workplace.
Christopher Huffman was hired as a probationary police officer in November 2023. He claims in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court that he was not given reasonable accommodations for a disability, which violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
According to Huffman’s attorney Chanda Brown, the military veteran sustained an injury while in combat that hindered his ability to write and express thoughts in written form.
The lawsuit claims that Huffman’s direct supervisor mocked him for his disability.
“It took him longer to write,” Brown said. “He might have more typos or things that have to be edited, so he was called stupid and other derogatory terms. They made fun of his writing skills, compared him to an eighth grader.”
The lawsuit claims his supervisor became aware of Huffman’s medical condition after overhearing a conversation between Huffman and another officer.
“That severely affected his confidence, his ability to work, his ability to come to work and stay motivated when your supervisors are criticizing you for an injury that you’re trying to overcome and trying to work through,” Brown said. “And so that’s what caused a lot of the strife in his position.”
According to the lawsuit, Huffman was placed in remedial report writing training sessions in April of 2024. The lawsuit claims the training officer observed that Huffman could complete reports with minor errors when provided with appropriate resources and support.
Despite this, the lawsuit claims Huffman’s supervisor failed to provide him with reasonable accommodations.
“Mr. Huffman’s accommodations from our review of the records wouldn’t have been significant, which might have included a little bit more time in report writing, a little bit more report writing training, but not anything significant that would be an undue hardship on the city of Columbus,” Brown said.
Brown claims Huffman was able to perform his duties as a police officer despite his disability.
“Every employee should have a right to work, a chance to work,” Brown said. “And in this situation, the city of Columbus did not give him and did not honor that right, even though they could have made reasonable accommodations for him to be able to work.”
Brown says Huffman still wants to be a police officer, but this has had severe repercussions on his career.
“When you have these types of things in your record, at least for Mr. Huffman, where they’re saying he can’t perform these job functions or were let go or recommended for termination, that type of blight on your record makes it really hard to find a position anywhere else,” Brown said.
According to the lawsuit, Huffman sustained a work injury in late April 2024 and was placed on medical leave. The lawsuit claims while on medical leave, Huffman requested a transfer from his supervisor which was denied.
The lawsuit claims that upon returning to work in June, Huffman was recommended for termination based on his report-writing abilities. He resigned from his position that same day.
According to Brown, Huffman is now looking to either be reinstated to the department or receive financial compensation for the income he’s going to lose.
“The city should have done what was right from the beginning, which is to honor an employee’s right to work,” Brown said. “And when you honor those rights and follow the law, that benefits everybody, including the employer, because Mr. Huffman, from my interview and speaking with him, made an awesome police officer, the type of officer you want on the streets.”
The Columbus City Attorney’s office said the office is currently reviewing Huffman’s lawsuit and had no further comment.
“While we do not know the validity of any such claims, the City Attorney’s Office takes any allegation of employer misconduct seriously,” the city attorney’s office said.
