Contractor sues city of Berwyn, Berwyn mayor, former city worker over racial slur
Sarah Lopez, Berwyn, IL: According to police report, Lopez told officer 'I am so sick and tired of these people!'
BERWYN, Ill. (WLS) -- A contractor is suing the city of Berwyn, its mayor and a former city worker over their response to a racial slur.
Phil Robbin said city investigators did not interview him when he reported the incident in May.
Robbin said he was parked in that alley while on a job removing a tree from a customer's yard when a woman, whom he later learned was Berwyn school board member Sarah Lopez, drove up in a marked city vehicle and ordered him to move his truck.
Robbin said he objected, telling her he had a permit to park in the alley.
"She was screaming at the top of her lungs, 'You don't know who you're F-ing with! I'm calling the police!' And I said, 'Feel free,'" Robbin recalled. "When I turned my back, it went haywire from then. N-word, N-word, N-word, N-word, N-word."
According to a police report, Lopez told a responding officer she did call Robbin the "N" word and then said, "I am so sick and tired of these people!"
The report said Lopez also told police she worked as a "Blight Inspector" for the Berwyn buildings department and had "...received multiple calls" about Robbin's truck blocking the alley.
She later acknowledged that "there were no calls."
Lopez, who used to work as "Blight Inspector," was fired in August. Berwyn South School District 100 said Lopez has since resigned from the board, saying her alleged "conduct does not reflect the beliefs of the Board of Education."
Lopez has not commented publicly on the incident.
Robbin said more should have been done.
In a statement, the city of Berwyn said in part, "The Mayor and the City categorically and unequivocally deny the allegations in Mr. Robbins complaint made against them. The City expressly and explicitly condemns all forms of racism."
