The Detroit Police Department has launched an internal investigation after a black veteran officer said he was racially profiled by a white officer for allegedly carrying too much money.
Christopher Williams, who has been with the department for almost 15 years, was among 100 or so plain clothes officers at the city's police training center on June 6 to log hours for annual requirements.
Todd Perkins, Williams' attorney, told NBC News on Sunday that the officer was in possession of more than $5,000 that his girlfriend, who is also an officer, had asked him to hold. Williams' girlfriend attended the June 6 training and had withdrawn the money during her lunch break to purchase money orders to pay her bills, according to Perkins.
At the end of the daylong training, Williams said he encountered a white officer in the bathroom who saw him shoving money into his pocket. As Williams exited the training center with his girlfriend and walked to the parking lot, he said he was approached by the white officer, who allegedly grabbed him, threw him up against a fence and handcuffed him.
Williams said the white officer, who has been with the department for three years, told him, "You're not supposed to have that kind of money," according to his attorney.
After Williams' girlfriend showed the white officer her bank withdrawal receipt, he let Williams go, Perkins said.Assistant Police Chief James White said Friday that the incident is under investigation and that he was "not asserting blame prematurely."
"I’d like to see what happened," White said in a video posted to the department's Facebook page. "To say that it’s a racial component, I’ve got someone in the bathroom with a very large sum of money on him and an inquiry is being made as to where did you get the money. That’s not unreasonable to me."
Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/bl ... p-n1018046
The rest of the article is in the link for those who want to read more into it. As for my opinion on this matter I think it is mess up that the officer in question was profiled just because he had a large sum of money. Hopefully this wasn't racially motivated and more evidence comes up for the case. If it was racially motivated then the officer that tried arresting Mr. Williams should be held accountable.
What is your opinion on this matter NSG?