TOLEDO, OH (Toledo News Now) - Toledo Police are conducting an internal investigation after one of their officers pulled over a Toledo City Councilman. The councilman is claiming he was unfairly profiled by officers.
"He rapped on the window and it scared me, and I rolled the window down and he said 'where are you coming from?'" said Councilman Larry Sykes (D), Toledo City Council.
Sykes says he was driving home along Byrne Road on April 24 when he noticed he was being followed by a Toledo police officer.
"He said 'do you have any guns or weapons or drugs or something in your car' and I said no," said Sykes.
Sykes said the questions were asked before he handed over his identification. He said the officer told Sykes he could not read the license plate on his SUV. The license plate says 4DRWBLK which stands for "for driving while black."
"I've had these license plates for over 20 years because I'm always getting stopped. I've had Mercedes get stopped, I've had Escalades get stopped," said Sykes.
Sykes says there's no reason he should have been targeted by police. He said he was not cited for anything. Now he has written a two page letter to the chief demanding an explanation.
"He's asking where I'm coming from, where I'm going, like I'm somebody's child," said Sykes.
Sykes is calling for a full investigation.
"An investigation or a study into whether or not this is happening to others, not just to black people but to black males, to women, to Hispanics, and others," said Sykes.
Toledo Police say they are digging deeper into what happened. An internal investigation is underway.
