Black officer says LAPD retaliated against him after filing racial profiling complaint

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A black Los Angeles Police Department officer is suing the city after he says he was retaliated against for filing a racial profiling complaint against a white officer.

According to the complaint, Lamark Ferguson was driving to a property he owned when he was pulled over by the other officer in August 2014, reports the LA Times. Ferguson showed his ID as well as police identification, and the other officer told him that he would have to check the police ID because gang members “down here are known to impersonate LAPD.”

After 20 minutes, which was “much more time than was necessary,” the officer finished checking on Ferguson’s police employment and let him go. However, as Ferguson was pulling into the driveway, the other officer stopped him again, saying he “still needed to verify” the employment. Ferguson complied and gave the officer his police identification, but after waiting for another 20 minutes in his driveway, Ferguson decided to call his supervisor to lodge a complaint. He told his supervisor he was calling “to complain that he was being harassed and profiled based on his race as an African-American.”

However, his supervisor failed to initiate a complaint, so Ferguson did it himself. Not long after that, Ferguson found himself transferred to an administrative position in another department, a move that Ferguson claims was punishment for his complaint.

The LAPD declined to comment to the Times.