The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Detroit Police Department and Chief James Craig (above) on behalf of a black officer who claims he was the victim of racial discrimination.
The Free Press reports that Johnny Strickland is an 11-year veteran of the force who said he was attacked by white officers just 10 days after Craig dismissed a report on a hostile work environment in the department.
Further, Strickland said that while he was detained, his personal car was searched without probable cause and left in disarray. Finally, he claimed that a white officer told him, “This goes nowhere from tonight.”
Just 10 days before the incident allegedly occurred, a report by the department’s own Committee on Race and Equality found “the department has a growing racial problem.” The Free Press reported then that Craig “portrayed the report as an internal look at the department, not an investigatory document, and said the assessment found no indication of widespread discrimination within the ranks or specific instances of discrimination.”