By Mark Fancher
To America’s shame, there is nothing novel about police harassment and abuse of young Black men. Consequently, few should be surprised that during an early January morning in 2017, Johnny Strickland was harassed, humiliated, and abused by a group of white Detroit police officers. At least, there should be no surprise until it is learned that Strickland himself is an 11-year veteran of the Detroit Police Department.
Officer Strickland’s nightmare began when he attempted to complete an errand for his mother. The off-duty officer in civilian clothing pulled into the parking lot of a gas station market unaware that it was the scene of an investigation of an abandoned suspected hand grenade. There was nothing to indicate the site was under investigation. No barrier tape, no flashing lights, no posted guards — nothing.
As he exited his car, Strickland heard a disembodied voice shout directions to leave. He then saw a figure approaching him rapidly through the early morning fog. As the individual drew closer, Strickland recognized him as a fellow police officer.
Strickland immediately identified himself as a police officer, but the approaching sergeant responded only by saying: “I don’t give a f— who you are. … You should have left when I told you to.” 
The sergeant then grabbed Strickland violently and placed him in handcuffs. Strickland pleaded in vain for the sergeant to retrieve his identification from his pocket, but Strickland was instead taken into the presence of other white officers on the scene.
Before the episode ended, Strickland endured a barrage of profanity and was called “stupid,” dumb,” and an “idiot.” He was mocked and taunted, and the handcuffs were deliberately tightened to a point where they caused physical injury. His only relief came when the sole Black officer on the scene loosened the handcuffs.
Things, however, did not get better when a supervising officer arrived.
He warned Strickland not to report his experience. When Strickland informed the supervisor of his commitment to reporting the misconduct, he was told he would suffer consequences for doing so. Adding insult to injury was an unauthorized unlawful K-9 search of Strickland’s car. Later, the threat of retaliation was fulfilled. Strickland faced several baseless disciplinary charges growing out of the incident.
Strickland’s experience was not unique.
Only 10 days earlier, Detroit’s police chief had learned about the misery of Black police officers from a report on race relations prepared by a special committee the chief had established. The report described an ongoing pattern of harassment and retaliation directed against Black police officers by white supervisory officers. The chief publicly dismissed the report and suspended the work of the committee that prepared it.
Officer Strickland is not content to allow a racially hostile work environment to continue. With the help of the ACLU of Michigan, he has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Detroit, its police department, and several individual officers. Strickland is sticking his neck out because he feels it’s his duty.
“I filed this lawsuit because racial harassment and retaliation were directed at me, and I don’t want any other officers to have to suffer in the way that I did,” he said. “I am concerned about more than just the welfare of my fellow officers of color. After I was targeted on the street for humiliating and dangerous harassment by white officers, it became clear to me that if I, as a veteran police officer, can so easily become the victim of police misconduct, then the ordinary Black person doesn’t have a chance.”
The efforts of Officer Strickland and the ACLU of Michigan may be a step toward giving African-Americans a chance to live in a city where there is high quality, non-discriminatory law enforcement.
Mark Fancher is a staff attorney with ACLU of Michigan
Get Tickets To Vanguard’s Immigration Rights Event
Well that’s one side of the story anyway.
More fanciful, embellished and disingenuous self-serving stories from the ACLU.
Nothing obviously racist here except the ACLU.
By all means, please share the facts you are in possession of that support these characterizations. Otherwise, how about waiting to see what happens with the lawsuit?
As with the case of Mollie Tibbets we’re told not to stereotype all illegal immigrants based on a few bad apples but in turn the left always stereotypes cops and other non-perferred groups based on just a few bad apples.
When you have a world view that all white males and cops are evil it is important to point out stuff like this since racist white cops are so bad that they are now even getting black cops to shoot people of color.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/dec/26/black-suspects-more-likely-to-be-shot-by-black-cop/
P.S. It is shocking to hear that Keith thinks that there is “another side of the story”, can he really even imagine an off duty black cop not following the orders of a white cop? Does he even think that the cop who was told to keep people away from the grenade would even get in trouble if a black man died because he just let him walk toward the grenade? Does the mainstream media even cover stories where the actions of white cops result in a dead black guy?
Do you not see the irony and hypocrisy in your doing exactly what you say the left “always” does–making sweeping allegations and stereotyping?
Detroit Chief of Police James Craig is African American .
And?
See article caption, and major thrust of article.
David
And Chief became a Caucasian .
Watch this 3 minutes video
http://www.detroitmi.gov/Police
DJT just gave this moving speech…
I wish.
Do you really think POTUS authored that?
If so, there are elements of self-awareness we have not seen before… perhaps the author also authored the NY Times op-ed… a bit of plagarism from McCain, methinks…
And given history of his (or should I say, His?) comments, doubt he believes in God, except perhaps if he sees himself as a perfect image and likeness…
It was a dream of mine. I think I was projecting a cross between FDR and RWR.
It was plagerized from a piece from the great Mark Levin and tweaked.
> It was a dream of mine . . . it was plagerized from a piece from the great Mark Levin and tweaked.
A dream of what Trump would say in a backwards universe? What drug causes that brand of hallucination? Sounded to me like Obama with Trump throwing in the end of the last sentence.
LOL. Obama coming out to tell the world that we will no longer celebrate difference in race, ethnicity and religion? Right.
Utopia in this country for next 200 years
Family member of victim of Chicago gang crime speaks out
‘The Ingraham Angle’ hosts a town hall in Chicago with citizens, law enforcement and religious leaders to discuss addressing violence in the city.
You must watch this video . Is only a few minutes .
http://www.foxnews.com/shows/ingraham-angle.html
What does that have to do with the subject of this article?