Lawsuit alleges officials fabricated anonymous complaint against agency’s highest-ranking Black officer, violating a federal consent decree protecting NRP.
BALTIMORE, MD, UNITED STATES, April 14, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Today, civil rights law firm Justly Prudent announced the filing of a new federal civil rights lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland on behalf of Robert Kersey Jr. against the Maryland Natural Resources Police (“NRP”) and several agency officials. Kersey is a retired 30-year veteran of the NRP who held the rank of Deputy Superintendent—the second-highest position in the 258-member agency.
According to the complaint, Kersey was appointed Deputy Superintendent on June 28, 2021, becoming only the third African American to hold the position in the agency’s 153-year history. During his three decades of service, he received stellar performance evaluations and had no prior disciplinary record.
The complaint alleges that Kersey’s troubles began in 2022, after speaking out against what he perceived to be offensive and disparaging statements about minority officers made by an agency official during a hearing before the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. Approximately three months later, Kersey claims that an anonymous letter containing ten accusations against him was submitted to the NRP Internal Affairs Unit. This anonymous complaint, according to Kersey, violated a permanent federal consent decree entered by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in 1996 (Case No. 1:94-cv-483), which expressly prohibits NRP from investigating anonymous complaints against officers. The consent decree was imposed after two prior legal actions involving documented racial discrimination against Black officers within NRP.
The complaint further alleges that agency’s leadership approved the investigation despite knowing that the consent decree barred investigations of anonymous complaints and despite knowing that the allegations were false. According to the filing, the official who approved the investigation also bypassed the agency’s preliminary review process and was never investigated himself despite being named in the same anonymous complaint.
Kersey claims that the investigation remained unresolved for more than eight months. He further claims that an independent investigator from the Maryland Department of General Services Capital Police was ultimately assigned to the case in February 2023 and closed all ten allegations against him, finding that the case had no merit. Despite Kersey’s complete exoneration, the complaint states that DNR did not return him to the Deputy Superintendent position and chose to withheld his law enforcement retirement credentials.
The lawsuit brings seven counts: race-based discrimination and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; race-based discrimination and retaliation under the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act; violation of the Equal Protection Clause under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; First Amendment retaliation under § 1983; and conspiracy to deprive civil rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3).
Kersey seeks, among other relief, compensatory and punitive damages, issuance of his retirement credentials, expungement of the investigation from his personnel file, and training for NRP personnel on consent decree requirements.
“This lawsuit seeks accountability for every individual who participated in a scheme to end a decorated officer’s career through fabricated charges and a federal consent decree violation,” said Attorney Jordan D. Howlette, who represents Kersey in the lawsuit.
The case is Robert Kersey, Jr. v. Maryland Department of Natural Resources, et al. (Case No. 1:26-cv-1435), filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.
Lars Kroner
Justly Prudent
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