"I just wanted to buy shoes for my birthday. That's all I was doing." Coleman leaned forward. "I know. And you had every right to do that without being harassed.
My legal team is filing lawsuits against the officer and the woman who called the police. We're going to hold them accountable, and I want you to know that you're not alone in this." Coleman's legal team moved quickly. Within a week, the lawsuits were filed, and the police department opened an internal investigation into Officer Shawn Pierce. What they found was damning.
Pierce had been on the force for 12 years, and during that time, he had been the subject of five formal complaints from black and Latino residents. All five complaints described the same behavior: stops without probable cause, aggressive treatment, refusal to listen to explanations, and assumptions of guilt based on appearance. All five complaints had been documented, investigated, and dismissed with verbal warnings. The pattern had been ignored for over a decade. The investigation also revealed that Pierce had conducted 63 stops over the past 3 years that resulted in no citations, no arrests, and no enforcement action.
Of those 63 stops, 58 involved people of color. The data showed a clear and undeniable pattern of racial profiling that the department had allowed to continue without consequences. Courtney Blake's background was investigated as well, and what came to light made her look even worse. Neighbors from her previous residence came forward with statements that Courtney had a history of calling the police on black people for minor or non-existent reasons. She had called police on a black delivery driver who was dropping off a package.
She had called police on a black family having a barbecue in a public park. She had called police on black teenagers walking through her neighborhood, claiming they didn't belong there, even though they lived on the same street. The pattern was undeniable, and her 911 call about Khalil was just the latest example of behavior that had been going unchecked for years. The security footage from Sole Elite was released to the media as part of the lawsuit, and within 48 hours, the story had gone viral. The video showed Khalil being handcuffed and humiliated for a crime he didn't commit, and it showed Courtney Blake smirking in the background while Officer Pierce violated Khalil's rights.