ACLU Asks Why Police Handcuffed Man Moving Into His New House

The Kansas ACLU wants to know why a black man was detained by police while he was moving into his new house late at night. Police stopped Karle Robinson, 61, as he was carrying a large-screen television into the house. He was handcuffed outside for 8 minutes last August, the Kansas City Star reports. Tonganoxie police have said they had reason to think a crime was taking place. After watching the video, the police chief said officers did nothing wrong. The ACLU said that it's a case of "moving while black" and that Robinson, a military veteran, tried to file a complaint in writing with police but was stopped by the chief. Robinson says officers have regularly followed him, parked in front of his house, and driven by since that night.

"Each of these incidents would be concerning had they been alleged independently," the ACLU said in a statement. "Together, they suggest a pervasive culture of racial bias." The ACLU asked the state attorney general to investigate. Police Chief Greg Lawson told the AP that the ACLU's letter to the attorney general "contains multiple accusations that are inaccurate" but didn't elaborate. He did say that his department has cooperated with the ACLU and Robinson and would cooperate with a state investigation. Census figures show 97% of Tonganoxie residents are white. "I'd like to see those cops and that chief lose their jobs, because this was uncalled for," Robinson tells the AP. "This is strictly racial profiling." (More ACLU stories.)