LAPD Accused of Retaliating Against Black Officer Who Filed Racial Profiling Complaint
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A Los Angeles Police Department officer is suing the city alleging he was retaliated against for reporting that he was racially profiled while off-duty, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Officer Lamark Ferguson was driving through South Los Angeles last August to check on a property he owned when an unnamed white officer allegedly stopped him for no apparent reason. Ferguson presented his driver’s license and LAPD identification to the skeptical officer, who reportedly told him gang members “down here are known to impersonate LAPD.”
After making Ferguson wait for 20 minutes while his identity was verified, the white officer followed him the remaining two blocks until he pulled into the driveway of his property. The officer then allegedly approached Ferguson’s car a second time saying he “still needed to verify” Ferguson’s employment, took Ferguson’s LAPD identification a second time, and made Ferguson wait another 20 minutes.
Ferguson reportedly notified his supervisor “that he was being harassed and profiled based on his race as an African American,” and later initiated a personnel complaint against the other officer. This did not go over well with the department, according to Ferguson’s lawsuit:
After that complaint was initiated, the lawsuit said, Ferguson was loaned to another division and put on administrative duties. The department also initiated a personnel complaint against Ferguson, the lawsuit said, alleging he made false statements to internal affairs investigators.
Ferguson’s lawsuit alleges that his reassignment and the personnel complaint against him are retaliation for his initiation of a complaint against the officer accused of racial profiling.