Golden Valley Settles Lawsuit with Former Interim Police Chief
The city of Golden Valley has settled a lawsuit with its former interim police chief.
According to an attorney that represented the city, The League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust paid $162,500 to settle the suit on Golden Valley’s behalf.
In June 2023, Scott Nadeau and his attorneys filed a federal lawsuit against the city claiming reverse discrimination.
Golden Valley interim Police Chief Scott Nadeau speaks with CCX Media in a 2021 interview.
Nadeau, a white man, claimed he was the top applicant for Golden Valley’s police chief job.
In the lawsuit, he alleged that the city passed him over to hire now-chief Virgil Green, a black man.
He and his attorneys requested at least $75,000 in damages.
The suit from June 2023 stated the following in part:
“[Nadeau] is a white male who was performing at a high level and exceeding the performance expectations of defendants,” the lawsuit reads. “[The city] nonetheless terminated [Nadeau] for the stated purpose of replacing him with a person of a different race. Defendants’ actions for the purpose of improving diversity constituted discrimination based on race.”
An emailed statement from attorney Susan Tindal, an attorney who represented the city in the case, said the following:
“The League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust paid and settled on behalf of the City of Golden Valley a lawsuit brought by Scott Nadeau. The settlement was for $97,500 to Mr. Nadeau and $65,000 to his attorney. The City admits no wrongdoing or liability and all claims against the individual defendants were separately and voluntarily dismissed. This settlement takes into consideration the costs of proceeding with the lawsuit and the opportunity to bring finality to this matter.”
