A Letter from AJP Co-Founder Peter Little Celebrating Milestone Verdict in Justice for Dukes Campaign
06/04/24A Letter from AJP Co-Founder Peter Little Celebrating Milestone Verdict in Justice for Dukes Campaign
June 4, 2024
American Justice Project is thrilled to celebrate a milestone win in the Justice for Dukes Campaign. On Friday, May 31, 2024, the Connecticut Supreme Court found that Christopher Dukes was in fact wrongfully terminated by Central Connecticut State University (CCSU). The ruling found that CCSU must reinstate Chris to his position as Director of Student Conduct, remove internal discipline records from his personnel file, and award him all back pay dating to his firing in December of 2018.
News of the ruling has spread through our local media outlets and the community with an unfortunate bias – based on lazy journalism and a focus on the viewpoints of dissenting justices – which unfoundedly paints Chris as a threat to public and student safety.
First, let me say that the safety of CCSU students is and has always been at the core of Chris’ 22 years of exemplary service to the university. He was a beloved and outstanding colleague, dedicated to his work and the CCSU community. Chris had no criminal or disciplinary history before nor after the 2018 incident at his home, and was promoted for his exceptional work and continuous cross-departmental collaboration.
On April 25, 2018, armed police descended upon Chris’ home while his children slept upstairs, in a “swatting” incident and fraudulent 911 call orchestrated by his now ex-wife. That evening and in the days, months, and years following, Chris was subject to a 15-point Chokehold of injustice perpetuated by the system meant to protect him. Due to overwhelming evidence provided in proceedings spanning the last six years, all charges against Chris were dropped, the criminal case was dismissed in 2019, and in 2020 the Department of Children and Families reversed erroneous findings that had separated him from his children. In 2021, the CT Board of Firearms Permit Examiners unanimously ruled that it was indeed safe and suitable to reinstate his pistol permit, which the Hartford Police had wrongly denied him.
We thank the concurring CT Supreme Court Justices who clearly took the time to pore through the objective evidence and circumstances of the previously dismissed charges, and found that CCSU improperly acted as judge and jury with Chris’ career by wrongfully terminating him.
While this is an incredible win for Chris personally, this ruling sets an important precedent for others on their journeys through injustice. I’m proud to stand by Chris, my fellow co-founder at American Justice Project. We acknowledge the pain he suffered and applaud Chris’ commitment to transforming his trauma into public education and advocacy so others won’t be similarly harmed.
I invite you to learn more about AJP’s work, explore our educational resources, and connect us with those in your life impacted by elements of The Chokehold.
Peter Little
Co-Founder