AKRON, Ohio — The officer who serves as the public face of the Akron Police Department is now suing the agency he represents, claiming the city has systematically discriminated against Black and minority officers in promotions while bending the rules for white candidates.

Lt. Michael Murphy, who currently serves as APD's public information officer, filed a lawsuit Nov. 14 in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas alleging racial discrimination after the city twice rejected his application to take the captain's promotion exam. The complaint seeks to halt a captain's exam scheduled for Nov. 19, and asks a judge to declare any results unlawful.

The core allegation

Murphy, who is Black, was told he could not take the exam because he had not served as a lieutenant for two years — a requir

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