Retired state trooper says he was demoted due to his race
A retired Michigan State Police trooper says that he was demoted for leaving work early, while his white partner was given a second chance and was not demoted despite the fact that two K-9 dogs died in his care.
A retired Michigan State Police trooper says that he was demoted for leaving work early, while his white partner was given a second chance and was not demoted despite the fact that two K-9 dogs died in his care.
The unidentified trooper claimed that he was demoted and that the K-9 dogs were removed from his care over claims that he left work early and misfiled time cards. But the trooper says he had permission from a sergeant to leave early.
“For them to get together with the command and concoct some crazy investigation to get you removed from the unit, it’s clearly because I’m black,” said the trooper, who was the only black officer in the K-9 unit at the time.
Meanwhile, a white officer received no punishment after two dogs in his care died after being left in the car for 11 hours, despite the fact that he should have been punished, according to the rules, with jail time and fines.
“It was kept hush-hush and he was allowed to stay in the unit,” the source said. “He was written a reprimand and was immediately issued two more dogs.”
“It speaks to a discriminatory mindset. It speaks to a discriminatory custom and culture in the Michigan State Police,” said the former trooper’s attorney, Leonard Mungo.
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