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Gene Kennedy reportingAn African-American man has filed a complaint against the city of Payson and its police department. He says a police officer pulled him over for no reason. The man thinks it was racial profiling.
Eddie Warmsley says he plans to sue the city and the police department. He says he wants a public apology and the officer disciplined. But it's doubtful that will happen. The police department did an internal investigation and cleared the officer. Most likely, a judge or jury will make the call as to whose story they believe.
The incident happened in June. Eddie Warmsley says a police officer pulled up to his car in the parking lot of a Payson restaurant.
"As soon as he pulled me over and I asked, 'Why'd you pull me over?' he said, 'You need to change your [expletive] attitude," Warmsley said.
The officer says he was running plates on cars randomly, looking for stolen vehicles. Initially, the officer made an error while running Warmsley's plate. The car came up as a red vehicle with a female as the registered owner.
When the officer realized an error had been made and it was Warmsley's car, he let him go, but not before a heated conversation.
Warmsley insists the officer pulled him over because he's black. Payson Police Chief Tom Runyan says that's ridiculous. "It's not justified. It's not true. That's not what we do," he said.
The chief thinks Warmsley is just after money. Warmsley says the officer offended him and should be held accountable. His attorney also says in the claim that it's illegal for officers to run license plate numbers without probable cause. The police chief says they can run any plate for any reason.
The city has 90 days to respond to Warmsley's case.
