on shadowy conspiracy theories
Jan. 19th, 2007 11:44 amQ: what do you do if you're a white cop who injures a black kid and then starts to feel picked on by those around you? (i mean, especially since black cops who shoot black suspects don't get picked on nearly as much.....?)
A: you file a racial discimination case, of course.
White Officer Accuses City Of Discrimination In Lawsuit
POSTED: 7:19 am EST January 16, 2007
UPDATED: 8:04 am EST January 16, 2007
CLEVELAND -- A white police officer who shot and wounded a 12-year-old black boy is accusing Cleveland and its police department of racial discrimination against him in a federal lawsuit.
The trial is scheduled to start Tuesday in the lawsuit filed by Patrolman Edward Lentz Jr., who says he suffered retaliation and was used as a scapegoat by officials seeking to appease black community leaders and politicians who were upset over the shooting of a black youth.
Lentz argues that during a drawn-out investigation of the shooting, he was given degrading duty, denied opportunities to earn overtime pay and informally punished in other ways. He says the treatment was harsher than that of black officers who shot other black people.
The city's lawyers said Lentz's complaints are "based upon innuendo, coincidence and shadowy conspiracy theories that have no basis in reality."
They said the investigation took longer than expected because the department had six fatal shootings involving officers within eight months of the one involving Lentz, and those investigations took precedence.
"His entire case is based upon speculation that he was made a sacrificial lamb to appease public outcry," city Assistant Law Directors Kevin Gibbons and Ami Patel wrote in court documents, "yet he presents no evidence that there was a public outcry, nor any evidence to show how his treatment was designed to appease them."
The shooting happened Dec. 6, 2001, while Lentz was providing security outside the home of Jane Campbell, who had recently been elected mayor.
In his lawsuit, Lentz says he shot Lorenzo Locklear through the roof of a station wagon that had sped toward him as he approached it on foot, dragging him before he was able to get on top of the vehicle and fire 14 shots. He says he had ordered the driver of the car to stop. Locklear was wounded in his arm, hip and ankle.
A grand jury in 2003 rejected a felonious assault charge against Lentz. Locklear was found delinquent in juvenile court in 2003 for driving the stolen car and possessing marijuana.
Lentz' lawsuit is similar to one filed last August by two detectives involved in the fatal 2005 shooting of 15-year-old Brandon McCloud. Detectives Philip Habeeb and John Kraynik seek $2 million, claiming they were inappropriately punished for a justified shooting because they are white and McCloud was black.
In his lawsuit, Lentz says the city also violated his privacy by releasing confidential psychological records from his personnel file to the news media, and that the city retaliated when he pursued federal sanctions against the city for releasing the records.
A: you file a racial discimination case, of course.
White Officer Accuses City Of Discrimination In Lawsuit
POSTED: 7:19 am EST January 16, 2007
UPDATED: 8:04 am EST January 16, 2007
CLEVELAND -- A white police officer who shot and wounded a 12-year-old black boy is accusing Cleveland and its police department of racial discrimination against him in a federal lawsuit.
The trial is scheduled to start Tuesday in the lawsuit filed by Patrolman Edward Lentz Jr., who says he suffered retaliation and was used as a scapegoat by officials seeking to appease black community leaders and politicians who were upset over the shooting of a black youth.
Lentz argues that during a drawn-out investigation of the shooting, he was given degrading duty, denied opportunities to earn overtime pay and informally punished in other ways. He says the treatment was harsher than that of black officers who shot other black people.
The city's lawyers said Lentz's complaints are "based upon innuendo, coincidence and shadowy conspiracy theories that have no basis in reality."
They said the investigation took longer than expected because the department had six fatal shootings involving officers within eight months of the one involving Lentz, and those investigations took precedence.
"His entire case is based upon speculation that he was made a sacrificial lamb to appease public outcry," city Assistant Law Directors Kevin Gibbons and Ami Patel wrote in court documents, "yet he presents no evidence that there was a public outcry, nor any evidence to show how his treatment was designed to appease them."
The shooting happened Dec. 6, 2001, while Lentz was providing security outside the home of Jane Campbell, who had recently been elected mayor.
In his lawsuit, Lentz says he shot Lorenzo Locklear through the roof of a station wagon that had sped toward him as he approached it on foot, dragging him before he was able to get on top of the vehicle and fire 14 shots. He says he had ordered the driver of the car to stop. Locklear was wounded in his arm, hip and ankle.
A grand jury in 2003 rejected a felonious assault charge against Lentz. Locklear was found delinquent in juvenile court in 2003 for driving the stolen car and possessing marijuana.
Lentz' lawsuit is similar to one filed last August by two detectives involved in the fatal 2005 shooting of 15-year-old Brandon McCloud. Detectives Philip Habeeb and John Kraynik seek $2 million, claiming they were inappropriately punished for a justified shooting because they are white and McCloud was black.
In his lawsuit, Lentz says the city also violated his privacy by releasing confidential psychological records from his personnel file to the news media, and that the city retaliated when he pursued federal sanctions against the city for releasing the records.
Re: Agreed
Date: 2007-01-21 02:34 am (UTC)