PORTLAND, Ore. — A lawyer in the Oregon Justice Department has filed a civil rights complaint in the wake of a racial-profiling scandal that started during an investigation of Black Lives Matters supporters.
The Oregonian reports a spokesman for the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries has confirmed receiving the complaint Friday from Erious Johnson Jr. He is the attorney in charge of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. The spokesman, Charlie Burr, says the Oregon Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will handle the investigation.
In addition to the complaint, Johnson also filed a tort claim on April 2 that reserves his right to sue the state for damages and “lost earning potential.”
Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum released findings days ago from an outside attorney hired in November to review allegations that Johnson, who is African American, had been profiled by his own colleagues.
The complaint argues that the surveillance wouldn’t have happened if he had not been a black male.
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