Williams v. City of Belvedere

*87 Opinion

Lewis Williams filed a complaint against the City of Belvedere alleging it had discriminated against him on the basis of race when it refused to hire him as a police officer. The trial court ruled Belvedere was entitled to prevail because Williams had failed to exhaust properly his administrative remedies prior to filing suit. Williams now appeals contending the court interpreted and applied the applicable administrative claim statute incorrectly. We disagree and will affirm.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

In 1994, Belvedere wanted to hire an entry level police officer for its five-person police department. The city placed advertisements, collected applications, and selected persons to interview. One of the persons chosen for an interview was Williams, an African American with 23 years of experience in law enforcement.

The hiring panel gave Williams high ratings in most categories. Nevertheless, there was some concern over whether Williams was appropriate for the job which was open. Much of Williams’s experience was in correctional work and Belvedere “d[idn’t] even have a holding cell.” In addition, Williams stressed in his interview that he was interested in…