Black Ohio police officer lays employment discrimination charge over former chief’s alleged racist activities

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Officer Keith Pool of the Sheffield Lake Police Department also asked a court to order the department to turn over the records from the chief of police’s computer.

Pool, 57, made his first public statement on Thursday since video of the apparent harassment surfaced in July.

Chief Anthony Campo left the force after a video was released showing him affixing a “Ku Klux Klan” tag to Pool’s raincoat while Pool was not watching.

Pool was the first – and at the time of the incident, the only – black policeman in the department.

“Even when we watch it now, I don’t believe that has happened,” Pool said in a virtual press conference Thursday. “It was so demeaning that at that point I just didn’t know how to react. It felt like I had been hit with a hammer.”

“Chief Campo thought putting the words Ku Klux Klan – a sign – on my rain jacket and then wearing the Ku Klux Klan hat, was a joke,” Pool said. “Worse yet, he told other officers to go and see what he did. I would have preferred then that he hit me in the face.

“It was offensive and humiliating, and beyond anything I have experienced in my entire career,” Pool added.

Pool said the incident made him think of a story his late great-grandmother had told him about his great-uncle being killed by the Klan.

In addition to his public appearance, Pool’s lawyers announced two legal filings on Thursday afternoon.

The first, a workplace discrimination charge filed with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, alleges Campo interfered with Pool’s hiring, using the n word to refer to him in the process.

The discrimination charge alleges that after Pool’s hiring, Campo created several images directed against Pool that played on racial stereotypes. These images were reportedly taken on Campo’s work computer and were printed and posted on the department’s bulletin board.

The record indicates that Pool is requesting an investigation by the Commission, a step required by state law before filing an employment discrimination claim in court.

In the case file, Pool also alleges discriminatory behavior, including offensive images or statements towards other members of the force. One of those images reportedly included the face of the only Latino officer in the department superimposed on the label of a bottle of hot sauce.

A second filing with the Ohio Supreme Court seeks to compel the city of Sheffield Lake to comply with a filing request seeking Campo’s disciplinary history as well as images and documents created on his computer issued by the department.

CNN made several attempts to reach the city of Sheffield Lake, but the city did not respond to requests for comment.

Campo told CNN affiliate WEWS in part: “It was just a joke that got out of hand.”

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