Hennepin County Sheriff's lieutenant files discrimination complaint

A Hennepin County Sheriff's Office lieutenant is alleging she's been treated unfairly because of her race and gender throughout her 27-year career.

Lt. June Johnson, an African-American, said a white male supervisor who promoted her told her she only got the promotion because she was black and told her she didn't belong with the department.

Johnson said she filed the discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission after exhausting all of her internal grievance options.

"After my complaint, they left me in the same environment to continually deal with the arrogance and the cockiness of the individuals that I had made the complaints of hostility and harassment against," she said. "My mental, emotional and physical health have suffered."

The sheriff's office has not yet responded to a request for comment.

There are a handful of African-American employees in the sheriff's office and some have experienced similar problems, she said. Johnson said she hopes her complaint will encourage others to speak out.

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