COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A former police officer has filed a federal lawsuit against the Columbus Division of Police, alleging the department discriminated against him based on his race.
Helal Daoud, a Middle Eastern man, alleges the Columbus police department discriminated against him by filing disciplinary charges that ultimately led to his termination in 2022. Daoud has since filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, in which he claims the division has retained white officers accused of similar conduct.
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The legal action, filed in April, states the department’s decision to terminate Daoud stemmed from a Dec. 15, 2021, incident in which he was dispatched in response to a 911 call reporting a man scrapping metal from a vacant house in south Columbus.
When Daoud arrived, he drove around the house, but no one in the immediate vicinity matched the 911 caller’s description of the suspect. Upon driving back to the front of the house, he witnessed the door slam shut, according to the lawsuit…