A horrible story if true but this is UCLA, one of the most liberal school systems in the country. Could it be possible that racism exists in Progressive environments? Say it isn’t so.

Richard Winton of the LA Times reports.

Black UCLA employee claims racial profiling in arrest by campus police

A 46-year-old African American UCLA facilities employee arrested for obstruction and resisting arrest by campus police last week is accusing the department of racial profiling and violating his civil rights.

Claudius E. Gaines III was arrested after being stopped on Strathmore Drive shortly before midnight last Wednesday as he drove home from his shift at the university.

His attorney, Carl Douglas, said officers had no reason to stop the truck. When Gaines questioned why he was being stopped, Douglas said, the officers called for backup and he was threatened with being pepper-sprayed.

Gaines, a probationary employee with the facilities department at UCLA, is concerned that the incident could result in his losing his job, Douglas said.

“This is a 46-year-old father of three who’s never been arrested, and now he will have this arrest on his record for the rest of his life,” Douglas said. “He did nothing wrong.”

The university issued a statement disputing the attorney’s account, saying that Gaines refused to comply with the officers’ requests to provide them with his driver’s license and proof of registration during the traffic stop.

“Officers then asked him to get out of the car, a request Mr. Gaines again repeatedly refused, escalating the situation and leading to his arrest for obstructing and resisting an officer,” the university said in its statement.

A university spokesman declined to comment further, citing “the ongoing police investigation.”