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This doesn’t make any kind of damn sense and it just goes to show that we have a long way to go…
Eight Minnesota county jail correctional officers have filed discrimination charges with the state because they were barred from guarding the man who killed George Floyd, Derek Chauvin, according to Star Tribune.
In the complaint, the officers said they were sent to a separate floor when Chauvin arrived at the Ramsey County Jail.
The superintendent, Steve Lydon told the officers that their presence could potentially be a “liability” due to their race.
The racial discrimination complaint was filed with Minnesota’s Department of Human Rights.
One of the acting sergeants, who is Black, stated that he “understood that the decision to segregate is had been made because we could not be trusted to carry out our work responsibilities professionally around the high profile inmate-solely because of the color our skin. I am not aware of a similar situation where white officers were segregated from an inmate.”
Another sergeant who is Black that handles the transport of high-profile detainees was ordered substituted by white officers in the middle of a routine pat-down of Chauvin.
During the investigation into this complaint, a supervisor told investigators that the decision to swap the officers was made to “protect and support” the officers.
Out of care and concern, and without the comfort of time, I made a decision to limit exposure to employees of color to a murder suspect who could potentially aggravate those feelings, Lydon explained.
In the complaint, Lydon is listed as the offender, and he has been demoted from his superintendent position.
Bonnie Smith, the attorney for the officers said that such decisions should not be based on race or color but rather performance and behavior.
Should the officers have been moved because of their race, Black?