Reframing the Headline: CT Supreme Court Finds CCSU at Fault in Wrongful Termination Case

07/30/24

In the era of speed-to-headline, digitally-focused journalism, bias, slant, and spin can be seen in more stories than ever before. One-sided, incorrect, lazy storytelling is not just an issue of ethics in journalism, it is a hindrance to justice and a tool of oppression - whether intentional or unintentional.

At AJP our mission is to identify where injustice lives in systems, processes, and policies. An important tool we leverage in this work is our Chokehold Assessments - and one of the most common oppressive chokeholds is Media Manipulation.  

In this series, we take headlines from cases near to the organization and those we support, and those well-known in the mainstream media, to understand them with less bias and make room for the truth.


CT INSIDER: Central Connecticut State University must rehire fired administrator, CT Supreme Court rules

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On May 31, 2024 the Justice4Dukes Campaign celebrated a milestone achievement in the 6-year battle for Christopher Dukes’ innocence - a Connecticut Supreme Court ruling that Chris’ former employer - Central Connecticut State University - had wrongfully terminated him in December of 2016 following a swatting incident for which he was later proven innocent. That celebration was marred by local press coverage that focused on the dissenting justices' comments and spoke little to nothing about the evidence that led the majority to rule in his favor. 

In this exercise, we’ll review an article by CT Insider and dissect the language, order of information provided, and widespread bias throughout the article - providing details that should have been included as part of a correct and racially neutral story. You'll see that commentary as orange, italicized text in line with portions of the article we are re-framing.

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Original Article
By Jessica Bravo & Pat Tomlinson
Updated June 3, 2024 7:00 p.m.

In a split decision, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Central Connecticut State University must rehire a former administrator who was fired following a standoff with police in 2018.

Omitted from police reports, but explained to the Justices, was the instruction from HPD for me to "sit tight and wait" (for someone in charge to call me). That person arrived more than 1 hour later (hence your standoff). During that hour, I phoned police three times to ask "where's your guy, why the delay?" A total of ten phone calls occurred between police and Dukes. HPD claimed they only recorded one. How convenient?

The court ruled in a majority opinion that the university was bound by an arbitrator’s findings that the school “did not have just cause” to fire its former director of student conduct, Christopher Dukes, and ordered the school to reinstate him.

Dukes was fired by the university shortly after he was in an alleged armed standoff involving police and his ex-wife between April 24 and April 25, 2018.

His ex-wife told officers who responded to the call that Dukes was threatening to kill him and her, armed with a firearm, and refused to open the door after he locked himself in a room, the court said. The court added that a standoff occurred for hours while their children were present.

Body cam footage as well as DNA evidence support Chris’ claims of being swatted and framed for kidnapping - all while his children slept peacefully unaware upstairs. But none of the mainstream media mention these results were brought to bear as part of the original court proceedings.

In their decision, a majority of justices found that the university’s collective bargaining agreement allowed Dukes the opportunity for an arbitration hearing and what they called “progressive discipline.”

“(E)ven if this court agreed with the state that the grievant’s behavior had violated the university’s code of conduct, that code of conduct did not require or recommend the termination of the grievant’s employment, and the collective bargaining agreement expressly provided for progressive discipline,” the court wrote.

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IDENTIFYING ELEMENTS OF THE CHOKEHOLD:

While media manipulation is one element of the Chokehold, this article illustrates other oppressive activities at play, including:

GUILT BY ACCUSATION

PROSECUTOR MISCONDUCT

POLICE MISCONDUCT

TIME


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With the above corrective commentary, necessary contextual background in mind, and identification of elements of the Chokehold at play, we invite you to read the full article at the link below to better understand the story as it was told in the media and evaluate this article and others for yourself.

Stand with us in fighting for more informed and unbiased journalism. 

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Full Article