A white police cop who recently discovered that he has African ancestry is suing the city and its police chief for racism.
Sgt. Cleon Brown took a genetic test through the popular site ancestry.com back in December and was shocked to find that he owes 18% of his DNA to various regions in Africa.
The discovery set off a chain of events in which Brown found himself the target of racial jabs from his fellow officers in the Hastings Police Department as well as the police chief who called him “Kunta” – a character from Alex Haley’s “Roots”.
Other officers would walk by Brown whispering, “black lives matter”. The racial bullying even extended to the city’s mayor.
According to Brown’s attorney:
“There was an instance where my client was talking to the mayor, and the mayor ― upon learning that my client was 18 percent African-American ― proceeded to tell him a racist joke” using a racial slur, she told CBS Detroit.
Brown said the Christmas tree in the police department lobby was decorated with Santa figurines named after each officer on the force. Brown’s Santa was black with “18 percent” written on the beard, according to WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids.
Brown is suing Hastings, the town’s police chief, its deputy chief, a sergeant and the city manager in a federal civil rights lawsuit.
