Date of Offense
Complaint
Supporting Document(s)
Statement
Racially Derogatory "Black Panther Party" Remark by Supervisory Police Official"
Case Reference: Department of Veterans Affairs Final Agency Decision (FAD), issued by the Office of Employment Discrimination Complaint Adjudication (OEDCA), VA Case No. 200P-644-2022-147530.
On April 21, 2022, Major Joshua Fister, then a supervisory official with the Phoenix VA Police Department, approached Matthew Bennett, James Webber, and Cedric Marks while the three African American officers were engaged in a casual workplace discussion and stated,
"Didn't mean to mess up your Black Panther Party."
The incident was documented immediately afterward in an official Department of Veterans Affairs Memorandum for Record. The memorandum identifies Matthew Bennett, James Webber, and Cedric Marks as the three officers present and notes that none were affiliated with the Black Panther Party or any similar political organization. At the time of the incident, James Webber and Cedric Marks were both former supervisory police officials from other Department of Veterans Affairs police departments, while Matthew Bennett had recently interviewed for a supervisory position before an interview panel that included Major Joshua Fister, who exercised supervisory authority and influence over promotional opportunities within the department.
The incident was later investigated by the Department of Veterans Affairs and specifically incorporated into the agency's Final Agency Decision (FAD). During the investigation, witnesses corroborated that the statement was made, while Fister stated that, if he made the remark, it was intended as a quotation from the movie Forrest Gump. After reviewing the investigative record, OEDCA concluded that this incident, together with other race-related comments attributed to Fister, contributed to an objectively hostile work environment based on race discrimination.
Under Brady v. Maryland and Giglio v. United States, documented evidence reflecting racial bias or discriminatory conduct by a law enforcement official constitutes impeachment material relevant to credibility, bias, and impartiality.
