A gay man claims he and his legal partner were mistreated by Greenwood police after another man pulled a gun on them.
A man “pulled a gun on us because we are married to each other,” Keynon Johnson said at Tuesday’s meeting of the Greenwood City Council. “When we called the police department, a couple of officers threatened to take us to jail because we called the police department.”
Police Chief Ray Moore said the couple was in front of Greenwood-Leflore Public Library and the person who allegedly pulled the gun on them was in the parking lot of Big Star on Cotton Street when officers arrived.
After Johnson pointed out the the man, officers questioned him and searched his vehicle but did not find a weapon, Moore said.
The persion who allegedly pulled the gun was not identified.
The chief said Johnson and the alleged threatening person had had “problems for months” before the incident, which happened in November. Moore said Johnson was reluctant to fill out an affidavit.
“They (the officers) explained to him that there was nothing they could do — that they’d do a report and if he wanted to sign an affidavit on the guy, he was welcome to come to the station,” the chief said. “Well, he never showed up.”
Moore said Johnson “kept insisting that the officers make an arrest right there, but the police can’t make an arrest based on a report.”
Johnson filed a complaint against the officers for not making an arrest. Later, he claimed that police officers made anti-gay slurs against him, but he was unable to identify the officers or the patrol vehicless they were in.
That complaint triggered an investigation by the department’s internal affairs division, and that investigation continues, the chief said.
“We take any kind of discrimination complaint very seriously,” Moore said. “The situation is being dealt with.”
Mayor Carolyn McAdams suggested that Johnson file a complaint with her. Council President Ronnie Stevenson said the council would look into the incident.
Johnson left the meeting before it concluded.
• Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
