Lawsuit by Ex-Officer Claims Racial Bias
A black former police officer filed suit Friday accusing the city of San Gabriel and its police chief of racial harassment and claiming he was fired for complaining about discrimination.
In the U.S. District Court suit, Aaron Emery Jones, 29, said fellow officers called him and other blacks various racial epithets.
Jones’ attorney, Joe Hopkins, said Jones had been a San Gabriel officer for six years before Police Chief David Lawton fired him last November, saying a psychological examination showed him unfit for duty. Hopkins said Lawton ordered the exam only after Jones complained to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Lawton was on vacation. Police Capt. James Gardner said he could not comment.
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