Posted on 05/10/2017 12:56:17 PM PDT by Gamecock
Sgt. Cleon Brown was shocked to find out he could trace 18 percent of his DNA to regions of Africa. He said he was further shocked by his boss’s and coworkers’ response to those results, and now he’s suing over it.
Brown, who has worked at the Hastings Police Department in Michigan since 1998, took a genetic test with Ancestry.com last year that revealed the officer, who looks white, is 18 percent African. In the fall, Brown said he “proudly” told his fellow officers about that fact, according to a federal lawsuit, though city officials disagree with that characterization and say Brown joked about the results from the beginning.
“Sgt. Brown, in a very joking and jovial manner, informed several of his fellow officers that he had recently taken a DNA test through Ancestry.com and the results showed that he was 18 percent African American,” city officials said to Michigan Live.
Since then, Brown said his boss and fellow officers started taunting him about his race. The lawsuit alleges that Chief Jeff Pratt called Brown “Kunta,” an enslaved character in the novel “Roots: The Saga of an American Family” by American author Alex Haley.
Brown also described incidents when officers would pump their fists and say “black lives matter,” when he walked past them, and the former mayor – after hearing about his DNA results – telling him and another officer a racist joke that included an offensive term for black people.
The statement by the city said Brown repeatedly brought up the fact he was African in “mutual bantering” with officers and he would engage in “typical racial stereotypes,” according to Michigan Live.
“After a month or so of Brown originally bringing it up, even that ended,” the city said. Brown’s attorney denies he ever joked about his heritage, according to CBS Detroit.
Another incident described in the lawsuit alleges an officer placed a black Santa figurine in Brown’s department Christmas stocking in December, with “18%” written on its beard. The city said the officer who did it apologized to Brown after he heard Brown was offended by it, and Brown “emphatically denied that he ever complained about it or that he was upset or offended by it and he even seemed confused that the issue was being raised.”
Brown filed a complaint in January with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to the lawsuit. He said he started experiencing “hostile, retaliatory behavior” from the chief and his fellow officers, including Pratt asking him to resign his sergeant position and return to the position of patrol officer.
While Brown said he is part of a protected class due to his African heritage, the city said that’s uncertain under civil rights laws. Racial discrimination laws are “not designed to protect those who can demonstrate some trace amount of a particular race or geographic origin,” the city said, according to Michigan Live.
Brown is seeking financial damages, saying in the lawsuit the stress has affected his health, and his attorney told CBS Detroit she hopes the accused officials will resign.
Maybe he’s part North African....
Agree. My Viking ancestors will kick his butt.
“Personally I think that alleged DNA testing by Ancestry.com is a money making scam........”
So is McDonald’s.
18% African does not necessarily mean 18% black. There are plenty of non-black Africans in North Africa and South Africa. So Ancestry must be using “African” as a polite way to say black.
You win the thread.
Ancestry.com should be embarrassed about their false and misleading advertising with regard to DNA testing.
They can no more tell you what country your ancestors originated from than they can fly you to the moon.
“Part of a protected class...”
This fruitcake now believes his stock is worth more than anybody else’s. This is an adult and a cop who truly believes this utterly sick BS!
This society deserves hell seriously.
It’s legit. I was even able to export the raw data to other websites for in-depth analysis. I didn’t any surprises in mine.
“While Brown said he is part of a protected class due to his African heritage, the city said that’s uncertain under civil rights laws. Racial discrimination laws are “not designed to protect those who can demonstrate some trace amount of a particular race or geographic origin,” the city said”
What? Racial laws are not designed to protect those who can demonstrate some trace amount of a particular race or geographic origin?? What about trans-racial people like Rachel Dolezal? Isn’t SHE protected?
Aren’t transsexuals also protected by anti gender discrimination laws? Like if a guy becomes a “girl”, isn’t s/he protected just by being a girl?
/smh
Our world is insane.
“Racial discrimination laws are “not designed to protect those who can demonstrate some trace amount of a particular race or geographic origin,”
I guess Fauxchontas’ claims, the laws of Massachusetts, and the policy at Harvard, are more advanced than Michigan.
Was his first name being “Cleon” the first clue?
This reminds me of a story of a newly hired Fireman who had been to the Gulf War in 1991. Somehow he and his fellow Firemen were discussing dehydration, and he mentioned how he had gone through "desert warfare training" and they told him that the quickest way to rehydrate someone was to inject water into their anus. (Because the water will be absorbed more quickly through the Colon and Lower Intestine).
He said if you don't have anything else, "Pee in their butt." This started waves of laughter from the men in the Fire Station, and thereafter this Fireman was stuck with the nickname "The Rehydrater."
The moral here is "don't tell your coworkers things for which they can make fun of you."
Adults never really leave High School.
Believe it to be legit, too. Was only surprised at what I thought would be there but was not there. Results are: 78% Western European, 18% Scandinavian, 14% Mutt(other regions). Other companies may get a closer match than Ancestry. If it was NOT legit there is no way we would be matching up with unmet relatives. Siblings,BTW, do not have an identical mix.
Here comes the entitlement.
I think they’re reliable. I had two cousins, one on my mother’s side and one on my father’s side, have their DNA done on ancestry. Immediately they showed up on the site as first cousins of mine. Neither one of them submitted their DNA through me or had any connection with me, as far as ancestry.com knew.
"Get the money you deserve!"
Be funny if the 18% was Boer.
Exactly. I matched up with relatives that I never heard about until I asked my folks and they were like, “Oh yeah, that’s your third cousin”.
"What do you REALLY mean, 'would I like some watermelon..?'"
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