A Chicago police officer is suing the city to change his race on his official records after the department said it would allow officers to freely change their gender to match their identity.
Mohammad Yusuf, 43, said in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed last week that he is looking to change from “Caucasian” as he “currently identifies as Egyptian and African American.” However, the Chicago Police Department is not allowing him to change his race.
The lawsuit comes as the department allows an officer’s “gender identity [to be] corrected to match their lived experience,” Yusuf’s lawsuit alleges.
And, the decision is impacting Yusuf’s professional advancement, he claims.
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Chicago Police vehicle cruises downtown on Oct. 19, 2022. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out to the Chicago Police Department for a statement, and it said: “We do not comment on pending litigation.”
According to the lawsuit, Yusuf alleges that he has been repeatedly overlooked for promotions due to his “Caucasian” race. These promotions, he claims, have been given to other minority applicants with only very few going to Caucasian applicants.
The 20-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department points in his lawsuit to CPD’s promotion system that “particularly” benefits “minority candidates,” even if they did not score well on promotional exams.
Yusuf specifically claims he “scored in the first promotional tier” on the sergeant’s exam in 2019. But, he was not promoted then and has still not received such a promotion.
Chicago police officers in the West Englewood neighborhood on Aug. 11, 2022. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Since that time, he alleges in the lawsuit to have seen “over 75 Merit Promotions to sergeant,” with “less than five” going to candidates who identify as Caucasian.
“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,” Yusuf said in his complaint.
Yusuf said he first joined the force in 2004 and, at the time, the department only offered three race selections: Caucasian, Black and Hispanic. He chose “Caucasian” and it was put on his official record, he said.
Chicago police headquarters on May 17, 2021. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Now, the department offers “over nine” different racial designations for incoming officers. But, it is stopping him from changing his race to more accurately reflect his identity due to a “blanket prohibition” against changing an officer’s race, the legal filing said.
After repeated rejections, Yusuf claims he was told he would first have to produce a DNA test before his race could be changed on his record. He then provided the results of a “23 and Me” genetic test, which showed his heritage and race, but the department ultimately said it was “not possible” to change his official record, he claims.
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“The Racial Identity Policy Ban facially and intentionally discriminates against certain individuals based on personally identifiable characteristics like race,” the officer alleges.
The lawsuit specifically alleges the city of Chicago is in violation of Title V of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
