A second Binghamton Police Officer is suing the Police Chief, the Assistant Police Chief and Mayor, claiming racial discrimination.

Lieutenant Alan Quinones has been with the department for more than a decade. He claims he's been held back in his career because of his Hispanic heritage.

This stems back to a separate complaint filed by African-American police officer, Christopher Hamlett, who claims he was denied a promotion due to his race.

The official complaint claims, Quinones spoke out about racial bias within the department - specifically against Assistant Chief, John Ryan.

Qinones says Chief Joseph Zikuski then retaliated against him in a variety of ways, including frivolous disciplinary action and attempting to undermine his authority with subordinates.

"Unless the Mayor takes control of this, the police department is going to be in chaos. You're going to have somebody who is running the department who is promoting racism by not taking steps to eliminate it," said Quinones Attorney, Ronald Benjamin.

A spokesperson says the city of Binghamton denies the charges and will address them in court.

Binghamton Corporation Counsel Kenneth Frank released a statement Tuesday night regarding the incident.

“On Monday afternoon, the City of Binghamton received a copy of an unfiled complaint from a Police Officer sent to the City via the media," said Frank. "The City has not been served.  This complaint is nothing more than a coordinated attack of the City in conjunction with a prior complaint filed with the New York Division of Human Rights in August 2019.  Like the prior complaint, the City adamantly denies these charges and will address them in the courts, not the media.”