Michael Bernard was washing dishes inside his Michigan home when he asked his 12-year-son to take out the garbage two years ago.

But when Tashawn Bernard did not return after several minutes, the father became worried and stepped outside to look for his son, finding him in handcuffs surrounded by several Lansing police officers, accusing the boy of matching the description of another Black male suspected of stealing cars.

“You always use that as an excuse,” the agitated father was heard saying in direct confrontation with the officer insisting the teen “fit the description.”

However, the other Black male was an adult who happened to be wearing neon shorts like Tashawn Bernard but with a white T-shirt, according to a lawsuit filed last month in federal court, seeking damages for the trau

See Full Page