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The Memphis Police Department’s onetime “Officer of the Year” was offered a position with the Nashville PD, which then rescinded the job once the acclaimed cop’s HIV+ status came to light, a new federal lawsuit obtained by The Daily Beast reveals.
He helped catch a killer, has been decorated for heroism, and volunteered for one of Memphis’ most challenging assignments. His doctor describes his health as “great,” and says he does not pose “any threat to co-workers or members of the community.” Still, Nashville city officials claim—amid an acute staffing shortage—that the officer is a danger to the public.
However, his viral load is all but undetectable—and, as such, untransmissible—thanks to a strict medication regimen, the officer argues in the potentially pivotal suit, which was filed July 21 in Nashville. Barring him from the force due to his HIV status, it says, “even though he posed no significant risk to others and was otherwise qualified for the job for which he had applied,” is discriminatory, and a violation of his civil rights. The Nashville PD “unabashedly indicated” that “if a person is living with HIV, then [it] will not employ that person as a police officer. And this is the end of the inquiry,” the complaint states. This policy, it asserts, runs counter to federal law and must be undone.