A Missouri police officer who did not earn a promotion but felt he was entitled to one has received a payout of over $10 million from the taxpayer for alleged discrimination because of his choice of sexual lifestyle.
Keith Wildhaber, an openly homosexual police lieutenant from St. Louis County, had been awarded $20 million by a jury in Oct. 2018 but took the $10 million deal because he would be able to keep a larger amount of the award by settling.
After he received the judgment, St. Louis County immediately promoted Wildhaber and made him the head of a “diversity and inclusion” unit to promote homosexuality, transgenderism, and other deviant lifestyles among law enforcement officials.
“This lawsuit acknowledges what Lt. Wildhaber survived in the police department and lets us move forward as a county,” County Executive Sam Page said on Monday.
“I think it’s important to recognize that this sends a message to everyone in county government and to all of our employers in the St. Louis region, that discrimination will not be tolerated,” he said.
Wildhaber whined that the St. Louis County police were concerned about his effeminate behavior, asking him to “tone down” his over-the-top actions because they were making fellow cops feel uncomfortable.
The key evidence of the case was a disputed incident of a police captain telling a witness that Wildhaber was “way too out there with his gayness” and would not receive a promotion due to his behavior.
This was enough for Wildhaber to win millions of dollars, as the diversity scam has become very lucrative in America.
St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar was forced to retire likely as a result of the fall-out, with Democrat officials such as Councilwoman Lisa Clancy demanding his head on a pike. The jury foreman made it clear that they wanted the taxpayer to pay an astronomical sum of money to Wildhaber in order “to send a message.”
“This is an opportunity for our department to move forward and to continue to make the progress that has been made and to stay focused on my … goals for our police department, which is first to keep us safe and second to respect all people,” Page said.
Page noted that the payout will come during a time of county budget concerns. The annual cost to taxpayers is expected to be between $500,000 and $600,000 over the course of a decade or so.
“These are tight budget times and if we don’t have to take the hit on our budget until the insurance payment comes through, we think this is the way to do it,” Page noted.
To his credit, Wildhaber did offer to settle for a $850,000 payment and a promotion in Apr. 2019. The county refused and opted to take the case to trial, and the taxpayer is going to be forced to pay much more as a result.
Councilman Ernie Trakas, a Republican, believes that the case should be appealed because it is not unlawful to discriminate against homosexuals under the law.
“I personally believe the Missouri Human Rights Act may be flawed in that area but I also believe the way to remedy that is the Legislature and not the courts,” Trakas said. He believes that the law as it is written leads to “no other conclusion that gender preference is not a protected class.”
The case is not likely to be appealed though, as St. Louis County has effectively surrendered to the LGBT agenda. Expect officers to be prancing around the county in rainbow uniforms before long.