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Karma is definitely not something that any of us should mess with, especially when you’re the one in the wrong for, say, being a racist authority figure.

Justice was truly served in Wyoming recently when the state’s first Black sheriff made an applaud-worthy decision to fire a white deputy who for years racially harassed a Black subordinate so much that it eventually led to him quitting the force.

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As reported by AP News, Albany County Patrol Sgt. Christian Handley lost his job following a discrimination lawsuit filed by Cpl. Jamin Johnson. The allegations range from racist name-calling, including an incident where Handley drove by the home Johnson shares with his wife and kids to shout profanities and the N-word at him, to profiling of Black civilians in general like he did to four University of Wyoming students that he once pulled over.

More on this story below, via AP News:

“‘Mr. Handley later apologized for having not realized that Mr. Johnson’s family was present, as if his vile racism was otherwise acceptable,’ the lawsuit says.

Johnson is suing Handley, seeking a jury trial if necessary and damages for the years of racism that he says led up to his decision to quit in 2017.

The allegations put a new spotlight on the sheriff’s office in Laramie, the Albany County seat known for the murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard in 1998, a crime that drew unprecedented attention to LGBTQ rights and hate crimes. The racism allegations come after Sheriff Aaron Appelhans’ appointment as Wyoming’s first Black sheriff in the wake of an outcry in Laramie over a deputy’s 2018 shooting of an unarmed man who had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder.”

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Appelhans made sure to right the wrongs within a system he was appointed to be in charge of by firing Handley in early 2021 shortly after accepting the position. A two-month internal review preceding his termination showed that Handley received preferential treatment even with a well-known reputation for being racist. This led Appelhans to take the sheriff office’s hiring process into his own hands, including personally signing off on all hires, promotions and dismissals.

“It’s just disappointing to learn how long it had been going on prior to my arrival,” Appelhans said in a statement earlier this week, also adding, “I’ll always continue to make sure that our department is not only welcoming to those who want to work in our department but welcoming to those in our community as well.”

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White Wyoming Deputy Fired By State’s First Black Sheriff For Years Of Racism  was originally published on blackamericaweb.com