San Diego police sergeant Arthur Scott has filed a lawsuit claiming he was retaliated against after complaining of a racist cartoon used during a
training session:
At issue is a century-old newspaper cartoon mocking a black police officer in the city. It shows Chinese men in pigtails running in fear from an ape-like caricature.
The lawsuit said the cartoon was passed around in a training class without historical context on race relations.
Scott, 43, said he complained to a supervisor. He claims he was later passed over for a promotion, pressured into taking an undesirable transfer and threatened with disciplinary action “based upon frivolous allegations of misconduct.”
The offensive cartoon is pictured below:
Racist cartoon depicting Frank McCarter, San Diego's first black police officer
This isn't the first time Sergeant Scott has complained of
racially-charged material making the rounds:
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."
San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman says she is taking the allegations
"very seriously":
“We will fully cooperate and support any and all investigations into this matter," Zimmerman said. "At this time, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further on this case since it is in litigation.”