Officer Keith Pool (pictured) has filed a discrimination charge against the City of Sheffield Lake Division of Police after he was allegedly the victim of the former police chief's race-based harassment
The black Ohio police officer who received Ku Klux Klan notes from his white boss has filed a discrimination charge against his employer.
Officer Keith Pool filed a the charge - an initial step for preparing a lawsuit - with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission on Thursday alleging that former Sheffield Lake Police Chief Anthony Campo harassed him on an 'ongoing basis' because of his race and that other superior officers with knowledge of the incidents refused to step in.
Pool alleges that Campo created 'racially offensive images mocking me' and then shared them with other employees and on department bulletin boards, citing one image where his face was photoshopped on the Grim Reaper's body that Campo captioned 'the raccoon reaper'.
Campo stepped retired over the summer after he was caught on surveillance video placing a small note reading 'Ku Klux Klan' over the 'police' label on a raincoat that was on Pool's desk.
The former police chief also made a 'pointy Ku Klux Klan hat' and wore it in front of Pool and other employees, the complaint states. Campo also told Pool he had to wear the hat during his shift.
In addition to the discrimination charge, Pool's attorneys have filed a petition with the Ohio Supreme Court compelling the Cleveland-suburb police department to provide public records that they say will demonstrate Campo's alleged pattern of race-based harassment.
Pool alleges that Campo created 'racially offensive images mocking me' and then shared them with other employees and on department bulletin boards, citing one image where his face was photoshopped on the Grim Reaper's body that Campo captioned 'the raccoon reaper'
On July 25, 2021, Campo was recorded placing the KKK note and hat on Pool's raincoat.
The video from the Sheffield Lake police station, which did not include sound, shows Campo standing at a department printer, then carrying the note over and deliberately placing it on the jacket.
When the officer entered the room and sees the display, he looks in the direction of Campo's office. Video then shows the two talking briefly.
Pool removes the note from the coat, but then puts it back to show two of his colleagues, both white.
'It was not funny to them,' Pool told NBC News Thursday - the first time he has ever spoken publicly about the surveillance footage and alleged harassment.
'They walked away from it.'
He added: 'It was so demeaning. It was so disrespectful to me.'
A note saying 'Ku Klux Klan' is laying atop a raincoat arranged to resemble a KKK robe and
