Two white Pennsylvania state troopers have filed separate lawsuits accusing the Pennsylvania State Police of racial and gender discrimination, both citing reverse bias under the agency’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices.
Former trooper Andrew Zaborowski filed his federal lawsuit on October 14, alleging he was fired because of his race after an incident involving a Black couple. His claim states, “The decision to terminate plaintiff’s employment was based on his race and color. African-American and Black troopers employed by the PSP have committed serious offenses and have not been disciplined and/or have not suffered the harsh discipline of termination.”
However, the suit offers no examples or evidence to support those claims. It names Christopher Paris, the white commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police, and the agency itself as defendants.
Zaborowski was fired two months after a March 2, 2024, traffic stop in Philadelphia. That night, he pulled over Celena Morrison, a Black transgender woman and executive director of the city’s Office of LGBT Affairs, for “multiple vehicle code violations.” Her husband, Darius McClean, who is also transgender, stopped behind them when he saw the incident unfold.
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Zaborowski allegedly responded violently. Morrison, recording the encounter, can be heard shouting, “That is my husband. I work for the mayor,” as the trooper handcuffed McClean on the side of the interstate. She accused Zaborowski of hitting her, though the alleged punch was not captured on camera after her phone fell.
Both were arrested for resisting arrest, obstructing justice, and disorderly conduct, but all charges were later dismissed. Morrison has since filed her own lawsuit against the department.
Zaborowski insists his actions “did not have anything to do with the occupants’ race.” His complaint claims that “both of the occupants of the two vehicles were African-American” and that they “falsely accused plaintiff of racial profiling and of assault and battery.” He says that on May 10, 2024, “without any hearing or notice,” he was fired by Paris and the PSP.
Three days after Zaborowski filed, another trooper, Sgt. Daryl Jay Elias, filed his own lawsuit on October 17. Elias accuses the department of favoring women and minorities through DEI-based promotions, blocking white men from advancement.
His suit also blames those policies for the security lapses that led to the July 13, 2024, attempted assassination of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at a rally in Butler County.
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Elias claims that “a DEI Promotee” refused help from “lower-ranking officers in neighboring Troops” before the rally, despite at least two offers for additional manpower. “Inexplicably, the DEI Promotee in charge of Butler denied both of those offers, presumably because she lacked the qualifications and experience to serve in the high-ranking role she had been promoted to,” his lawsuit reads. He did not identify the officer by name or race, describing her only as a woman.
Yet congressional testimony tells a different story. The officer overseeing personnel that day was Lt. John D. Herold, a white trooper, who later told Congress that the U.S. Secret Service did not request extra support. “The PSP provided all resources requested by the USSS,” Herold’s three-page statement said. “The USSS did not ask me as the Officer in Charge of PSP for assets or to post a car or trooper at AGR International.”
Elias’s complaint further alleges an internal culture where “race and gender were determinative factors in advancement.” He claims a supervisor, Lt. Kelly Lentz, told him he needed to “grow a vagina” or “become darker” if he wanted a promotion.
According to the suit, Lentz said he believed his own promotion was due to confusion over his first name,“Kelly”, being mistaken for a woman’s name. “If you could grow a vagina, become gender fluid, or c you would be a fool for leaving here,” Lentz allegedly told Elias.
Elias also identifies four women promoted to lieutenant, Laura Klinger, Jennifer Ward-Trupp, Melissa Sanzick, and Heather Clem Johnston,despite “substantially fewer years in grade and lesser qualifications.” Only Ward-Trupp, based on local reports, appears to be Black.
The lawsuit argues that the department has gone too far in reversing old racial biases. “At the time of the Bolden suit in the 1970s, PSP was discriminating in favor of white males. Present day, Defendants overcorrected and are now discriminating against white males by consistently promoting far less qualified nonwhite males,” it says.
Both Elias and Zaborowski accuse Commissioner Paris and the Pennsylvania State Police of violating Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, claiming systemic discrimination against white male officers.
