White, Latino police officers claim racial bias after Cleveland shooting

While much of the world last week was focusing on events in Ferguson, Mo., or on the case of a 12-year-old who displayed a realistic toy gun and was shot to death by a police officer in Cleveland, a different kind of confrontation involving police and race began playing out in federal court.

Nine Cleveland police officers -- eight whites and one Latino -- are suing the city, alleging racial discrimination. They say they were disciplined more harshly than black officers were in cases involving officer shootings.

Though dollar figures are not mentioned, the nine are seeking damages for lost pay, overtime and other benefits in the wake of a Nov. 29, 2012, high-speed car chase during which 13 officers fired 137 rounds at two unarmed black civilians in a school parking lot.

Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, each shot more than 20 times, were killed. The city has settled a suit by the families, who will receive $3 million.

The federal lawsuit by police in some ways is the flip side of the ongoing debate involving police actions, whose mood President Obama on Monday described as “a simmering distrust that exists between too many police departments and too many communities of color.”

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