Sheffield Lake officer speaks out for 1st time since former chief left ‘KKK’ note on jacket

SHEFFIELD LAKE, Ohio (WOIO) - Keith Pool, the Black officer who was the victim of racial harassment from the former Sheffield Lake police chief, spoke publicly for the first time on Thursday since the summer incident.

Former chief Anthony Campo was caught on video placing a note that said “Ku Klux Klan” on the 57-year-old African-American officer’s raincoat, which was laying on a desk in the police booking room.

”In that moment, I just didn’t know how to react to it,” said Pool, during a virtual press conference on Thursday.

Additionally, Officer Pool and his attorneys claimed that Campo wore a Ku Klux Klan-style hat around the office and has a history of past racist behavior.

”I would have rather at that point for him to have hit me in my face,” said Pool.

Campo, who worked with the department for over three decades, immediately submitted his resignation after he was placed on administrative leave by Sheffield Lake Mayor Dennis Bring.

Pool said that since Campo’s resignation, the mood at the Sheffield Lake Police Department has been more “upbeat.”

The attorneys for the officer said they’re working to file a petition with the Ohio Supreme Court asking that public records documenting any offensive behavior by the former chief be released.

Pool‘s lawyers said they’re also in the process of filing a discrimination lawsuit.

Pool is the first-ever African-American officer for the city of Sheffield Lake.

Copyright 2021 WOIO. All rights reserved.