TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – A former Leon County Sheriff’s Office detention deputy has filed a lawsuit against the sheriff’s office, claiming discrimination.
According to the lawsuit, filed Thursday, Chauncy Riggsby is suing the Leon County Sheriff’s office for damages, alleging he was discriminated against based on his race and gender.
Riggsby was arrested in 2025 and accused of bringing contraband into the jail. According to previous reporting, LCSO said Riggsby was found with “unauthorized tobacco products.”
Riggsby claims the tobacco product was for his personal use and he “simply forgot to leave it in his vehicle before reporting to work.”
The criminal charges were dropped and he was reinstated, but placed on six months’ probation and docked 80 hours of time, according to the lawsuit.
Riggbsy alleges he was the victim of racial discrimination, citing two “female, African American co-workers” were also found to be “introducing contraband” into the jail on the same day as Riggbsy.
According to the lawsuit, neither of these employees were disciplined for their actions.
“[Riggsby] has been the victim of discrimination on the basis of his race in that he was treated differently than similarly situated black employees of [LCSO] and has been subject to differential treatment on the basis, at least in part, of his race,” the lawsuit reads.
He claims LCSO condoned the treatment and said the actions were “offensive, severe and pervasive.”
Riggbsy also alleges gender discrimination, saying LCSO took action and “allowed action to be taken against [him] because he is male.”
The lawsuit claims LCSO knew or should have known about the discrimination and that he “suffered adverse employment actions including, but not limited to, his employment termination.”
The lawsuit comes after Riggsby filed a charge of discrimination with the Florida Commission on Human Relations and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to the lawsuit.
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