OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
5:50 PM – Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Due to the Chicago Police Department’s decision to forbid him from identifying as a different race in officer records, a veteran of the force is currently suing the city on federal civil rights grounds.
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After the department announced that officers would be permitted to “change their gender” to better reflect their ideal identities, one Chicago police officer is now suing the city in order to have his race changed on his official records.
According to CWB Chicago, Mohammad Yusuf, 43, a 20-year police department veteran, is suing the city of Chicago for refusing to modify his race designation from Caucasian, despite the fact that he “identifies as [both] Egyptian and African American.”
When Yusuf joined the force in 2004, the department’s racial classification options were limited to Caucasian, Black, and Hispanic. Now, according to reports, the Chicago Police Department offers prospective recruits a choice of over nine distinct race designations, and officers are able to change their gender identity if they so choose.
However, according to CWB Chicago, the agency has a “blanket prohibition” on racial changes in Yusuf’s case.
“The Racial Identity Policy Ban facially and intentionally discriminates against certain individuals based on personally identifiable characteristics like race,” the lawsuit claims.
Yusuf’s complaint claims that his career was “hindered” due to his race designation, according to the outlet.
“Despite Yusuf’s exemplary qualifications and the purported race-neutral policy of the Merit System, Yusuf has been repeatedly bypassed for promotion in favor of less qualified candidates, based on their race, specifically African American officers, some of whom had disciplinary issues and were not suitable for the responsibilities of a sergeant,” the complaint said, according to CWB Chicago.
According to the outlet, Yusuf requested and received approval from the Chicago Police Department to confirm his Egyptian heritage through a “23andMe DNA test,” but the department refused to grant his request.
Transgender cops’ personal records are updated by the Chicago Police Department without them having to show documentation or proof of their “transition.”
Yusuf claims in the lawsuit that due to his “Caucasian” race status, he has been overlooked for career advancements on several occasions.
He asserted that just a small percentage of these advancements went to Caucasian applicants, with the majority going to minority applicants. In his lawsuit, the 20-year Chicago Police Department veteran refers to the department’s promotion system, which he claims “particularly” advantages “minority candidates,” even in cases where they do not perform very well on promotional exams.
The lawsuit specifically alleges that the city of Chicago is in violation of Title V of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
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