Monroe County deputy faces discipline for comments deemed racial during brawl

A Monroe County Sheriff’s deputy faces internal disciplinary action following comments he made during a fight in a Lambertville parking lot that has spawned accusations of racism and led to a rally being held at the Monroe County Courthouse Thursday afternoon.

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A group of activists is claiming race was involved in the fight that occurred Aug. 20 in the parking lot of a Lambertville store. They also claim local law enforcement officials made improper decisions based on race, an accusation the officials deny.

Thursday’s gathering apparently is intended to bring attention to the case that involved a fight between two women and a man. Attorneys representing a Black Temperance woman said they filed a federal civil lawsuit.

The fight resulted in criminal charges being filed by the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office.

However, Tracy Douglas, 59, of Temperance, claims through her attorney that the incident was racially motivated. Douglas is Black and the man who punched her, Dennis Landis of Woodville, Ohio, is white.

Also, during the investigation, a sheriff’s deputy, who remains unnamed, could be heard stating that he grew up in Detroit and “I’m more Black than you.”

Monroe County Undersheriff Jeff Pauli acknowledged the statement was inappropriate and said the deputy is still under internal investigation and faces a discipline process. He added that some training and coaching has occurred with the deputy’s supervisors and more formal training is planned for the near future.

However, Pauli also said the deputy made the comments in the heat of the moment and was trying his best to calm the situation.

Douglas showed a range of emotion and often was clearly agitated and could be seen on the video cursing, calling people “crackers,” and claiming the situation was racially motivated. She was also very upset that she was punched by a man.

“Look at my face!” she said several times at the scene that night.

“The Sheriff's Office does not condone the comments made by the deputy on the night of this incident,” Pauli said. “An internal investigation was conducted and the deputy involved is being dealt with. It is correct for people to be upset and concerned with the comments. However, it is only fair to the deputy for the (public) to watch all the videos and read all the reports to get a full grasp of what transpired that night and the days after.”

Since the night of the incident, Monroe County Prosecutor Michael G. Roehrig reviewed the reports and filed criminal charges against both Douglas and Landis, the man who admitted to the deputy that night that he punched her.

“I drilled her like a champ,” he was seen on video telling the deputy. Roehrig maintains both Douglas and Landis were wrong that night.

The confrontation started when Douglas opened her car door and hit Landis’ truck in the parking lot of the Liquor Cabinet at 7375 Secor Road. Douglas maintains it was the other way around; that her car was rammed while she held a baby. Landis’ girlfriend was inside the truck, and an argument between the two women quickly turned physical. Douglas was charged with assault and battery for punching Landis’ girlfriend, while Landis was charged with aggravated assault for punching Douglas after he exited the convenient store and saw his girlfriend being assaulted.

During the investigation, the deputy repeatedly tried to calm an agitated Douglas. That’s when he told her he grew up in Southwest Detroit and was “Blacker” than her.

Douglas retained Detroit attorney Darnell Barton, who called a press conference to be held at the courthouse this afternoon. In a press release, co-counsel Dionne Webster-Cox called the deputy’s remarks inflammatory. The deputy demonstrated bad behavior, she said, by adding to Douglas’ fear of a lack of protection that night.

“Where do we live when the victim is charged, but the man who held her while she was assaulted walks away without a second thought from the prosecutor?” Webster-Cox was quoted as saying.

The Detroit attorneys also claimed the prosecutor’s office was biased and lenient because the man who struck Douglas has the same last name as Chief Assistant Prosecutor Jahn Landis.

But Roehrig maintains there is no conflict of interest because the two Landis men are not related.

“I pride myself on taking steps to recuse my office whenever an actual conflict of interest arises, and I have done so roughly a half-dozen times per year since I became Prosecuting Attorney in 2019,” Roehrig said in a statement. “I assure you that I would do so in these cases, without hesitation, if there was an actual conflict. Chief Assistant Landis is, to the best of his knowledge, not related to Dennis Landis and has absolutely no relationship of any kind with him. He does not know Dennis Landis, has never met him nor spoken to him.”

Douglas, who reportedly suffered a broken nose and concussion, claims Landis’ girlfriend yelled racial epithets. She was not charged with a crime, so her name was not released.

Douglas was charged with assault and battery, a 90-day misdemeanor, while Landis was charged with aggravated assault, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail.

Several videos, including the deputy’s body cam, were reviewed and released to The Monroe News. Pauli noted that during the investigation, Douglas slapped the deputy’s hands and was warned to calm down otherwise he would take further measures.

That’s when Douglas asked if it was because she was Black. The deputy took exception to the accusation and responded with, “what the f*** does that have to do with anything? We’re not playing this game.”

Pauli said the deputy told Douglas to sit in the patrol car and that race played no part in such a decision. He said it is a standard technique to safely separate parties in conflict, such as what was occurring that night.

Pauli said he understands Douglas filed a complaint with the Federal Bureau of Investigation alleging civil rights violations. As a result, he said, the sheriff’s office's internal investigation is still open pending results of that investigation. Additionally, he said, training in implicit bias and cultural diversity will occur for all deputies.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Monroe deputy faces discipline for comments deemed racial during brawl