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A lawsuit involving an altercation between a public transit patron and a private security officer at the Depot in July 2008 has been settled out of court. Russell Kilfoil, a member of the Latin Kings street organization, filed suit against security officer Byron Meadows and Lankford Protective services last June, alleging he was assaulted, battered and falsely imprisoned by Meadows, and alleging that the security company breached its duty by failing to sufficiently investigate and discipline its employee’s conduct. Chris Brook, a lawyer with the Durham-based Southern Coalition for Social Justice who represented Kilfoil, said defendants have agreed to pay his client $13,500. Brooks said he understands that the majority of the payout will come from Lankford’s protective services. The coalition represented Kilfoil free of charge and with the exception of a small portion to cover expenses, Brooks said his client will receive the vast majority of the settlement money. “We’re very happy with the terms of the settlement, but this case was never about money for either Russell Kilfoil or the Southern Coalition for Social Justice,” Brook said. “This case was about trying to ensure that Lankford Protective Services thinks twice about how they treat patrons at the bus terminal and throughout Guilford County, especially patrons of color. Russell Kilfoil was just trying to catch a bus that night. The situation was entirely unacceptable, and I think the terms of the settlement reflect that.” Sam Lankford, co-owner of Lankford Protective Services, could not be immediately contacted for comment. Assistant City Manager Michael Speedling, who oversees the private security company’s contract, said that all institutional changes took place soon after the incident. “It had to do with tightening reporting procedures and continuing education in post-order requirements,” he said. “Our post-orders relate to how an individual will respond to incidents, when they can and cannot put hands on persons, and can and cannot make arrests.” Speedling said a determination of whether Meadows would have been justified in arresting Kilfoil depends on whose story you believe. “I wasn’t present during this situation,” Speedling said. “The failure was that Officer Meadows initiated the process of arrest by placing the handcuffs on him and did not follow through. He decided that he was going to give this individual a break, and did not go through with taking him before a magistrate. That created a problem.” A December 2008 investigation by the Greensboro Human Relations Department concluded that there was reasonable cause to believe that discrimination was at play in the incident based on Kilfoil’s Latino national origin, in conjunction with his age and gender. A Guilford County jury deadlocked last November over a misdemeanor assault charge against Meadows. Meadows was banned from working on city property in late 2008, but has remained employed by Lankford. Brooks said he recently encountered him working security at the Alamance County Courthouse in Graham.

WAKE COUNTY - On Saturday, March 20th, a group of residents in the New Hill community will host a meeting that will highlight the group’s opposition to a proposed waste water treatment plant in their community. The event is being organized by the New Hill Community Association, in conjunction with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice and the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network. The event will be held at the First Baptist Church at 3016 New Hill Holleman Road in the Wake County community of New Hill from 9am to 12pm noon. Media are invited to attend the summit and asked to be present for a 12:15 news briefing outside the church, which is adjacent to the site of the prospective sewage treatment plant. The event will also be a “summit on environmental justice and environmental racism,” say organizers. The Environmental Justice Summit will focus on the history and legacy of environmental racism in North Carolina, and on environmental consequences that Site 14 will place on the New Hill community, say organizers. Organizers say that “Site 14,” which is located in the New Hill historic district, is the preferred location for the Western Wake Regional Wastewater Management Facility. The proposal to put the facility in the area is “causing great concern among New Hill residents and their supporters.” New Hill is a rural community in Western Wake County, located near the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant. According to the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, the residents around the New Hill site are being treated unfairly because of their socioenomic status. “There are clear environmental injustices in this case,” says the group on their website. “The population surrounding the site is upwards of 75% ethnic/racial minorities.” In addition, even though the plant would be next door, the local residents would not receive sewage services. “Ironically, the community does not currently have access to sewer services, and only the property that is directly adjacent to the plant would be connected to it,” says the coalition. Since 2005, residents have been opposing efforts by the Western Wake Partners, an organization comprised of the towns of Cary, Apex, Holly Springs and Morrisville, to place a wastewater treatment plant in middle of their community. Those opposed to the plant say that those residents in those towns who will benefit from the plant are nowhere near it. “Towns represented in Western Wake Partners are all far from the borders of New Hill,” says the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. Speakers at the summit will include Gary Grant, Director of the NC Environmental Justice Network and attorney Chris Brook of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. Also speaking will be Dr. Steve Wing, a UNC Chapel Hill researcher and epidemiologist, Reverend James Clanton of the First Baptist Church New Hill, and Paul Barth, President of the New Hill Community Association.