A San Diego police sergeant says a recent training session featured a racist cartoon and now he's suing the police department.
The cartoon was shown at a training event for some of the top brass -- at a class for sergeants and lieutenants.
Sgt. Arthur Scott, a 10-year veteran of the San Diego Police Department, says he tried to speak out against the cartoon, but was transferred to a different division as a result.
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The lawsuit states the cartoon in question, which is from the early 1900s, was used to reference Officer Frank McCarter, the first black San Diego police officer.
Some say the cartoon is highly offensive because it shows McCarter as a monkey. The cartoon also includes derogatory comments about Asians.
"This is so over the top racist," Scott's attorney, Dan Gilleon, said.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said the image should be in our story so people can see what happened in a training class with police leaders.
To See The Cartoon, Click the Image Below
"If it's OK to do that for training officers, we can't possibly be moving forward," said Dr. Andre Branch, the president of the San Diego Chapter of the NAACP.
"I'm surprised that the police department did not take action sooner," said Asian American community member Linda Le. "We have to be more mindful in terms of implementing cultural sensitivity and awareness into the training for all government officials."
Scott claims in the lawsuit that when he complained about the cartoon being showed during the training, he was transferred out of the Southeastern Division, something he did not want.
Scott is the vice president of the San Diego Black Police Officers' Association and has spoken out before. The lawsuit states that in 2011 when Scott complained about racist images of President Barack Obama in some officers' lockers, a lieutenant said he was being "hyper sensitive."
And this isn't the first time the department has been accused of racism. Last year, sources said officers complained because there were "too many black faces" on a mural inside San Diego's Southeastern Division Station. At that time, three officers talked to Team 10 anonymously for fear of retaliation.
The San Diego City Attorney's Office issued this statement:
"As lawyers for the city, our deputies will review the claim with the Administration and the officers as to what occurred and then defend the city as lawyers are supposed to do. Other than that, our office has no further comment."
We reached out to the San Diego Police Department and received the following response from Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman:
“We were just made aware of the pending lawsuit this afternoon. We take these allegations very seriously. We will fully cooperate and support any and all investigations into this matter. At this time, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further on this case since it is in litigation.”
The office of City Councilwoman Myrtle Cole issued this statement early Wednesday evening:
"I immediately called Chief Shelley Zimmerman when I heard about the racial discrimination lawsuit filed by a San Diego police sergeant alleging he was the victim of a hostile work environment, retaliation and harassment. The sergeant states this all stemmed from him voicing his concerns over an inflammatory photo shown during mandatory training that depicted the first San Diego black police officer, Frank McCarter, in an ape-like caricature.
As a former police lieutenant, I condemn the usage of that photo in any type of official San Diego Police Department Training. I understand that the photo has since been removed from all training materials. We take these allegations very seriously. I will keep a watchful eye over this investigation and pending litigation."
