*The Pasadena Police Department is facing a discrimination lawsuit from a Black female officer who claims she was retaliated against and put on paid leave without explanation.
In the complaint, Taisyn Crutchfield, 28, recounts a public family dispute on Feb. 20 involving Carlos Towns, his minor brother, and their mother, Barsha Knox, MadameNoire reports. According to the officer, she attempted to de-escalate a heated dispute between Knox and another non-black officer at the scene.
In the lawsuit, Crutchfield claims additional officers were called during an argument involving the siblings. The boys’ father, Charles Towns, was fatally shot by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies earlier this year.
According to CBS News, Crutchfield’s attorney said that police were called when the juvenile was “understandably upset by the death of their father.”
Police bodycam footage reportedly shows the male officer push Crutchfield away and repeatedly tell her, “Don’t do that,” after she touched his shoulder in an attempt to calm him during the hostile situation. Another officer had to intervene and advise the two cops to distance themselves, MadameNoire reports.
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The City of Pasadena reportedly said, “No one was arrested or cited.”
Crutchfield claims the incident resulted in her being placed on six months of paid administrative leave, MadameNoire reports.
In her lawsuit, the Miss Eugene (Oregon) winner accuses the department of discriminating against her and retaliation.
“The Pasadena Police Department has a history of racial discrimination, racial profiling, disparities of punishment of African American employees and retaliation against [officers] who are whistleblowers or complain about discrimination, harassment, and retaliation,” the woman’s attorney, Brad Sage, said in a press release. “Crutchfield is the latest victim.”
Crutchfield has been on the Pasadena force since 2021.
On Instagram, she boasts 97K followers. Her bio states: “I take pictures during the day 📸 and patrol the streets at night.”
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