WASHINGTON — Accusations flew in court during closing arguments in a whistleblower lawsuit against the D.C. government and Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier, and the case is now before a jury.
Capt. Hilton Burton says he was demoted two full ranks and removed as commander of the Special Operations Division because of his remarks to the D.C. Council, which followed the attention-grabbing 2011 police escort of Charlie Sheen from Dulles International Airport by Special Operations officers. Burton told the council celebrity escorts were routine and a longstanding department practice.
Burton’s lawyer, Marc Wilhite, said the way in which Burton was demoted showed “clear evidence of retaliation” by police leaders, who Wilhite said were angered by Burton’s council testimony.
After being demoted to captain, Burton was assigned to the Medical Services Branch where his job was to research common police injuries. That was followed by Burton being detailed out to the fire department to help with internal investigations, something Wilhite called “almost unprecedented.”
Speaking about Lanier, Wilhite bluntly said “she lied” when she stated that D.C. police do not escort celebrities, simply because they are celebrities.
He also said that “red carpet escorts” were performed for people, including Wizards star John Wall, who was escorted by police from Dulles International Airport after being drafted in 2010. On the witness stand Monday, Lanier said she did not know anything about a handful of escorts, including Wall’s, which happened during that time period. “I find that hard to believe,” Wilhite said.
But Defense attorney Steve Anderson argued there were legitimate reasons to remove Burton from his post, and that Burton’s testimony before the D.C. Council did not trigger any whistleblower protections because he was offering “opinions,” not disclosures.
During her testimony, Lanier had said Burton mishandled standoff situations, was too aggressive in doing crowd control for a parade, and gave officers in his division overtime assignments that should have been spread around the entire police department.
In his closing remarks, Anderson said that one standoff situation, which ended with the death of a man as police moved in, left Burton thinking “my job is in jeopardy” just before he testified before the council. Anderson says Burton was already on “thin ice” and decided to “engage in some pre-emptive action” by casting blame on Lanier.
The jury deliberated for much of the afternoon Tuesday but was unable to reach a verdict. They are set to resume deliberations Wednesday morning in D.C. Superior Court.
