White St. Louis cop blames racism after city passed him over in favor of another white cop to be chief

St. Louis police Lt. Col. Michael Sack is suing the city of St. Louis for alleged racial discrimination after it passed him over to be the city's chief of police.

However, the claim could be complicated by the fact that St. Louis hired another white police officer, current Chief Robert Tracy, to be its top cop.

The St. Louis Dispatch reports that Sack is claiming that the city was originally determined to hire one of two other Black officers to be chief before it eventually settled on Tracy.

According to a complaint filed by Sack's lawyers, one Black candidate, Melron Kelly, withdrew from consideration, while the other, Larry Boone, declined the city's offer because it "could not get him the car he wanted, in addition to the compensation package offered."

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The suit says that, after the two Black candidates were out of the running, the administration decided to hire an outsider in Tracy, who at the time was chief of police in the Delaware city of Wilmington, instead of an internal candidate like Sack.

The rationale for this, allege Sack's lawyers, was for the city to avoid acknowledging that Sack "was always qualified" for the job.

The city of St. Louis has declined to comment on the lawsuit.