Police Officer Sues Department, Citing Racial Profiling

A police officer in Pasadena, California, has filed a lawsuit against the police department, citing systematic racism.

Officer Taisyn Crutchfield has stated that she is victim of racial discrimination and racial profiling as a Pasadena PD officer. Crutchfield is also a national award-winning NCAA track star in the 100-meter dash. In addition to that, she is a beauty queen who is running for Miss Oregon USA 2024 who holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in criminology.

Crutchfield’s attorney says that the lawsuit comes following an incident that occurred in January where an African-American male was fatally shot by police. A month later, his grieving sons had been out on the streets. At some point, one of the officers pulled one of the sons and put his face against a flower that contained a cactus with sharp thorns.

Officer Crutchfield then implemented her police training to de-escalate the confrontation and went to push the officer away. Her co-worker used obscene language and once a sergeant arrived to the location, Crutchfield was relieved of her duties.

Her lawyers say that this was just one of many occurrences where Crutchfield was treated unfairly compared to her colleagues. They have cited that the Pasadena Police Department has a history of racial profiling and shooting a great amount of Black men.

Throughout the time that Crutchfield has been employed with the department, many officers were said to have used racial slurs and displayed other discriminatory behavior. Instead of being punished, they were promoted, the lawsuit notes.

The Pasadena Police Department has stated that they are aware of the lawsuit but have called the claims “inaccurate.”