Former Inglewood police officer Marcco Ware and his team of attorney’s have filed a civil lawsuit against the City of Inglewood alleging racial discrimination and retaliation. During a press conference held on Tuesday, May 6 at the Equal Rights Law Group, attorney’s Mika Hilaire, Esq. (Equal Rights Law Group) and Jamie E. Wright, Esq. (The Wright Employment Lawyers) discussed Officer Ware’s abrupt termination and the devastating impact it has made on his law enforcement career.
Despite Officer Ware’s excellent performance, he was treated disparately compared to white officers and subjected to language associated with the KKK. Upon complaining, Officer Ware was placed on administrative leave and told he could not return as a peace officer.
Officer Ware has worked at the City of Inglewood since 2007. In March 2022, Officer Ware sustained two gunshot wounds while on duty. His beloved K9 partner, Flynn, and vehicle were suddenly taken from him while he was off work recovering. Under similar circumstances, white officers retained their K9s and vehicles. Officer Ware made repeated complaints about this to no avail.
After returning to active duty, in August 2023, Officer Ware submitted a complaint regarding the Chief of Police Mark Fronterotta’s license plate that read “GRNMSTA,” referencing “Grand Masters” in the Ku Klux Klan. Officer Ware again complained about this, only to have his own car towed from the Inglewood Police Department lot.
As a pretext, Officer Ware was suspended for over a year, only to be told he could not return to work because the City’s doctor, after examining him for only a few hours, had determined him unable to serve as a peace officer, despite successfully doing so for many years. Officer Ware has experienced depression at the retaliatory loss of his livelihood. He will be unable to find comparable employment or the same joy that he received from serving the community alongside his K9 companion.
Officer Ware seeks economic and compensatory damages in his Complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.