Someone call Rachel Dolezol because we’ve got a man she’ll want to meet! White Michigan police officer Cleon Brown recently went on Ancestry.com and found out he is 18% black, and apparently this opened him up to all manner of mockery, and he is suing everyone!
Sgt. Cleon Brown said the police chief called him, “Kunte,” a character in Alex Haley’s novel, “Roots: The Saga of an American Family,” while officers whispered, “Black Lives Matter” and pumped fists as they walked past.
At Christmas, the department hung stockings with names of the officers on a Christmas tree. A black Santa Claus figurine – with “18%” written on its white beard – was put in Brown’s stocking.
Brown filed a federal lawsuit alleging state and federal civil-rights violations and violation of the state’s Whistleblowers’ Protection Act. He claims intentional infliction of emotional distress.
He has sued the city of Hastings, police Chief Jeff Pratt, City Manager Jeff Mansfield, Deputy Chief Dale Boulter and Sgt. Kris Miller.
But it may not be so cut and dry:
Brown started “the joking and banter.”
“Sgt. Brown, in a very joking and jovial manner, informed several of his fellow officers that he had recently taken a DNA test through Ancestry.com and the results showed that he was 18% African American.”
The city said the topic would be forgotten before Brown would bring it up again. It would result in “mutual bantering” with officers about their heritage, the city said. Brown engaged in “typical racial stereotypes,” the city said.
During the Christmas season, the black Santa was put in Brown’s stocking. It was removed and an officer shared concerns with the chief. Brown told the chief he was not upset, and the chief, Pratt, told him to be proud of his African heritage, the city said.
Pratt then told officers there would be no further joking about Brown’s heritage. Pratt was concerned that Brown was initiating racial comments.
And we’re breaking new ground here
The city said that it’s uncertain that Brown is part of a protected class under civil-rights laws, even assuming that the Ancestry.com test results are valid. Racial discrimination laws are “not designed to protect those who can demonstrate some trace amount of a particular race or geographic origin … ,” the city said.
What say you?
