Black cop sues San Diego police over racist cartoon used in training
WARNING: Content may be offensive to some readers. The 107-year-old cartoon depicted a derogatory caricature of the San Diego Police’s first black officer patrolling Chinatown and was passed around a training session to highlight his career.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Wednesday, January 28, 2015, 5:01 PM
Updated: Wednesday, January 28, 2015, 5:01 PM
- A
- A
- A
ABC 10 NEWS VIA YOUTUBESgt. Arthur Scott has filed a lawsuit against the San Diego Police Department over alleged harrassment he said stemmed from his complaints about a racist cartoon.
A black San Diego cop claims he was harassed for speaking out against his department’s use of racist cartoons, according to a lawsuit.
The sight of San Diego’s first black police officer walking down the city’s Chinatown “as an ape in a police uniform” offended Sgt. Arthur Scott.
And so did a cartoon pasted to police lockers in 2011 that President Obama also in a racist light.
But Scott’s latest protest of a cartoon’s use at a lieutenants' training fueled the 10-year department veteran’s snub of a promotion, according to the lawsuitfiled last week in the Superior Court of California.
“He’s a good cop with a great career ahead of him,” Scott’s attorney, Daniel Gilleon, told the Los Angeles Times.
Because of his outspoken opinion, Scott was passed over for a promotion and transferred to an unwanted position, his suit alleges.
First published by the now-defunct San Diego Sun in 1909, the century-old derogatory cartoon titled “Our Colored Policeman on the Job” shows residents fleeing Officer Frank McCarter as he patrols their street with a baton and gun.
The cartoon was passed around last year’s training to tout McCarter’s milestone career with the department, but Scott says he believes it was shown out of context.
PreviousNext
In the past, police leaders told Scott he was being “hypersensitive,” the lawsuit said, but because of Scott’s protestation, the McCarter sketch was finally pulled from training materials.
The decision, however, resulted in an impromptu discussion with Assistant Chief Todd Jarvis’ over the cartoon to defend its use because “Officer McCarter had gained the respect of his peers at the time.”
Scott said the cartoon “did not depict the real Officer McCarter, but instead caricatured him as an ape in a police uniform.
“Sgt. Scott sensed he would be paying a price for speaking out,” the lawsuit asserts. “Sgt. Scott’s fear was well-founded.”
He eventually conceded to his transfer because he was threatened with disciplinary action, Scott claimed.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said in a statement that her department would be taking the allegations “very seriously” and would cooperate with the investigation, according to UT San Diego.
