LONDON -- Six white police officers are taking Scotland Yard to an employment tribunal for racial discrimination, their lawyer said Monday.
The officers — members of the Metropolitan Police Territorial Support Group — were tried and acquitted two years ago over alleged race-related assaults in west London.
Lynne Burns, who is representing the men, said the police investigation into the officers was racially biased and allegedly favored the evidence of a black officer who was part of the unit.
A spokesman for Scotland Yard, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, said the force will dispute the claims. He declined to comment further.
One officer involved in the trial was accused of assaulting teenagers of Arab descent in west London. Another was accused of threatening behavior and the other four are alleged to have covered up the assaults.
The matter went to court after the black officer gave evidence against his former colleagues, but all six were cleared at the trial at Kingston Crown Court in 2009.
