GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Last month the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the City of Greensboro and 9 other entities over alleged discriminatory advertising.
The lawsuit claims an advertisement for the City of Greensboro's Police Department illegally targeted men over women. In an exhibit, the ACLU shows a copy of the advertisement on the city's Facebook page. The ad gives a job description, shows a picture of two male officers posing with police motorcycles and link to learn more. The targeting information listed below says "You're seeing this ad because City of Greensboro wants to reach men ages 25-35 who live or were recently near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."
WFMY News 2 recently obtained a memo written by Police Chief Wayne Scott to City Manager David Parrish. The memo was sent September 21, three days after the lawsuit was filed.
In the memo, Chief Scott explains how his department was subject to allegations and says "any allegation that women were illegally excluded in the Facebook ad campaign is false."
Chief Scott goes on to say their marketing campaigns were geared toward individuals of all demographics. The ad in question appears to be part of a 2018 campaign focusing on "Opportunity" and Chief Scott attaches all the various rotating ads in his memos. The ads show a variety of different officers, including men and women, of various races.
WFMY asked Chief Scott for an interview about this. Ron Glenn, Public Information Officer for GPD says Chief Scott can't comment on this matter because the lawsuit is still pending.