A federal appeals court has breathed new life into a discrimination lawsuit filed by former Baltimore Police officer Wanda Johnson, ruling that her detailed allegations of disparate treatment compared to white colleagues warrant a trial.
The decision, filed Tuesday, January 6, 2026, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, reverses a lower court’s dismissal of Johnson’s Title VII race discrimination claim, sending the case back to the district level.
The legal battle stems from a 2018 incident at a nightclub during Johnson’s bachelorette party. An altercation occurred involving Sgt. Marlon Koushall, who struck a member of Johnson’s party.
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While Koushall was eventually convicted of assault and misconduct, Johnson alleged she was the one “blackballed.” She faced internal charges for assault, failure to notify supervisors, and making false statements, eventually being forced to resign in June 2022.
In reviving the discrimination claim, the appellate court focused heavily on the 13 comparators Johnson identified—white or non-black officers who allegedly committed similar or more severe offenses but faced significantly lighter punishment.
According to court documents, the disparities in discipline alleged by Johnson include:
- One white male officer used a racial slur and was permitted to retire without reprimand.
- One white male officer charged with multiple DUIs and “fleeing and eluding” was suspended but eventually reinstated.
- One white female officer charged with false statements and multiple uses of force was not suspended and was subsequently promoted to Sergeant.
- Sgt. Marlon Koushall (identified in the complaint as non-black) remained employed by the department despite a criminal conviction for assault and misconduct in office regarding the same 2018 incident.
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Writing for the majority, Judge Thacker noted that the lower court erred by requiring a “perfect one-to-one match” between Johnson’s conduct and that of her colleagues. The court found that Johnson presented enough commonalities—officers subject to the same standards and supervisors—to allow a jury to potentially infer discrimination.
Judge Wilkinson offered a sharp dissent, arguing that Johnson was found guilty of her infractions by a full administrative trial board after a two-year investigation. Wilkinson contended that the department’s decision to remove an officer deemed untrustworthy was lawful and that the proposed comparators were distinguishable because they had not all been formally adjudicated as “guilty” by a trial board.
While the race discrimination claim moves forward, the court affirmed the dismissal of Johnson’s retaliation and Monell (municipal liability) claims.
The court ruled that the internal investigation into Johnson began prior to her filing an EEOC complaint, breaking the causal link necessary for a retaliation claim, and that her allegations regarding a widespread municipal “custom” of corruption lacked specific factual evidence.
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