Sheffield Lake

The officer, Keith Pool, said during a video news conference on Thursday announcing the complaint against the city’s police force that officials in Sheffield Lake, Ohio, a small city about 25 miles west of Cleveland, had failed to stem a tide of racist misconduct by Anthony Campo, the police chief at the time.

Officer Pool, 57, who became Sheffield Lake’s first Black police officer last year and remains employed by the city, said during the news conference that Mr. Campo had previously called him a racial slur and regularly posted racist fliers on a bulletin board targeting him and another officer who is Hispanic.

Police officials and the City Council president in Sheffield Lake also did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday.

“Not only did he hurt me, but he hurt my family,” said Officer Pool, who is one of about 14 officers in Sheffield Lake.

Mr Pool, who became Sheffield Lake's first black officer in 2020, told reporters during a press conference on Thursday that his initial reaction had been one of shock, simply asking the then police chief: "Are you serious?"