Inglewood Officers Sue City, Allege Bias

Two Inglewood police officers facing criminal charges for their role in the alleged assault of a handcuffed teen filed a lawsuit against the city Thursday claiming officials discriminated against them because they are white.

Jeremy Morse was fired last October for allegedly using force in the arrest of 16-year-old Donovan Jackson, who is African American. He also is charged with assault under the color of authority. His partner, Bijan Darvish, was suspended and faces charges of filing a false police report about the incident.

A bystander videotaped the July 6 encounter at a gas station that appears to show Morse slamming a handcuffed Jackson onto the trunk of a patrol car and then striking him. The incident provoked expressions of outrage nationwide.

In their lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, the officers contend that they were victims of a “witch hunt ... a form of hysteria swept the mayor’s office and the chief of police.”

The officers allege that they were punished much more harshly for their role in the arrest than a black officer, Willie Crook, who was suspended for four days even though, according to the lawsuit, he struck Jackson with a flashlight and failed to report it. No charges were filed against Crook.

In the suit, Morse claims that he did not slam Jackson into the patrol car. Rather, the lawsuit says, Jackson went limp while Morse was trying to arrest him, and Morse was forced to lift his body and carry him to the car.

“Misjudging the height of the trunk in relationship to the height he had lifted Jackson, back pain, and due to the fact that Morse was exhausted during the altercation, and was in an awkward position, Jackson’s body fell on the trunk of the car,” the suit said.

The lawsuit alleges that Inglewood city officials pushed for criminal charges against the white officers but not against Crook.

It also charges that it was common practice in Inglewood to deny promotions and due process to white employees.

Inglewood city officials could not be reached for comment.

The two officers, who have filed grievances contesting their firing and suspension, are seeking lost wages and compensation for mental distress. Morse also wants to be reinstated, while Darvish, who says he has been relegated to washing city cars, wants to be back on active duty.

Jackson and his father also filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Police Department.

The two officers will face trial in the spring.