Man Sues Brookline Police, Town For Racial Discrimination

BROOKLINE, MA — A man filed a civil rights lawsuit this week against the Town, police department and three officers, alleging police racially profiled him, wrongfully searched and arrested him and defamed him, according to court documents.

Chiuba E. Obele, who is Black, filed the suit in US District Court in Boston Thursday.

According to the 65-page complaint, Obele who is acting as his own attorney, said that the tenant of his girlfriend who lives in Brookline filed a false police report claiming Obele assaulted him in 2017, "to implicate Mr. Obele for a crime he did not commit."

Obele, who was 27 at the time, was at his girlfriend’s home while she was at an appointment when he triggered an alarm system, prompting a police response. Obele said the responding officer, who was white, was suspicious of him his relationship with the homeowner, who was in her 70s and then referred to him as a "gold digger," and believed his girlfriend's tenant who was in the process of being evicted over Obele.

Obele said in the complaint that the department has failed to take steps to discipline, train, supervise or discourage constitutional violations on the part of its police officers.

The department has been working to mend its image since two Black police officers brought lawsuits against the department several years ago. The Town settled those two civil rights lawsuits in 2017 and 2018. Prior to that the department had been at the forefront of departments in the region when it comes to mental health, crisis intervention training, regular implicit bias training and other similar trainings.

Still, Obele of Boston, said in the complaint the department has a "de facto policy" of inadequately addressing "citizen and other complaints of police misconduct."

Obele is asking for compensatory damages for pain suffering.

Town Administrator Mel Kleckner responded Friday to the accusations.

"We are aware of Mr. Obele's complaint, and the matter is being reviewed by the Town. Neither the Town of Brookline nor the Brookline Police Department received a formal complaint from Mr. Obele prior to filing his complaint in court yesterday," said Kleckner in a statement. "The allegations in his complaint will be taken very seriously, and will be reviewed in accordance with appropriate legal process for all parties who are involved."

Obele said he considered taking legal action earlier and contacted the ACLU in January 2018 to share his complaint, but because he was facing criminal charges stemming from the arrest, the ACLU advised him not to pursue a complaint against those officers.

"Had I done so, I would have been exposed to retaliation. Knowing that the prosecutor might more aggressively pursue charges against me, I couldn't take that chance," he told Patch. "Ultimately, I decided to accept a plea bargain, and waited to finish my probation period to end in October 2019."

After his probation ended, he was helping his girlfriend with her own legal situation, he said, investing time in her case, by doing legal research and writing briefs. The statute of limitations would have expired in October, 2020.

"Please understand, I am not seeking to capitalize or 'cash in' on George Floyd's death," Obele said in an email to Patch. "It's terrible what happened to him. But I'm glad people are speaking out, and I want to be one of those voices involved in putting an end to police brutality and misconduct."