Lang
7/24/20
Iowa City Police say a white suspect claimed to be black, then accused them of racial discrimination.
The incident happened just before 12:45am Monday on Miami Drive. Officers received a report of a reckless driver, with witnesses saying they saw the suspect in an open garage two houses down from the residence where he parked. The alleged driver, identified as 27-year-old Michael Jensen, was located outside with two other people. It was later determined the car was parked at his house.
Police say Jensen showed multiple signs of intoxication and refused sobriety testing and questions about his alleged intoxication. Since police could not prove Jensen was driving the vehicle, he was placed under arrest for Public Intoxication instead of Operating While Intoxicated.
Once in custody, Jensen allegedly began yelling racial slurs at the arresting officer. He also allegedly claimed the officer was discriminating against him because he’s black, even though police say he’s white. Police also say Jensen refused to get completely into the back of the squad car when told to. He now faces an additional charge of Interference with Official Acts.
Trial is set for September 30th. If convicted, Jensen faces a maximum of 60 days in jail.