Good Cop, Black Cop: Guilty Until Proven Innocent (A Memoir)

Praise

Clayton Moore provides a highly engaging and personal account of his experiences as the first African-American police officer in a small town with big city problems. His own fight for justice reveals a great deal about race relations in the United States, making it an essential book in these turbulent times.

—Robert Alexander, PhD., Director,

Institute for Civics and Public Policy at

Ohio Northern University; CNN contributor

Former Sgt. Moore’s book was compelling, insightful, heart-rending, and thought provoking all at the same time. Recommended reading for anyone analyzing America’s interaction with the police of today.

—Attorney and former Akron Municipal Court Chief Civil Magistrate and

appointed Judge, Orlando J. Williams

"Clayton Moore’s Good Cop, Black Cop is a real-life story riddled with lies, conspiracy, bigotry, implicit biases, a fall from grace, evidence, case files, suggestions, solutions, strength, perseverance, faith, and fortitude. It’s all in there! No matter your race, background, or preference, at the end you’re left staring at the person in the mirror asking yourself some very important life questions."

—Angel A. D. Tucker, Officer, Oregon, Ohio Police Department, Certified Instructor in the Midwest for Tactical Communication; Certified Instructor: Blue Coverage, Below 100, and Bridges Out of Poverty

A captivating story of a well-known, Black police officer serving in a small, Caucasian community whose life becomes entangled with hidden agendas to cause his destruction. This book parallels the current social injustices in our nation.

—Tasha Y. Jenkins, M.D.

I have witnessed and experienced many things as a citizen of the world, but I have never understood the depth and range of human vision surrounded by sheer pain until reading Good Cop, Black Cop. Simply brilliant and relevant to this moment in history! A must-read.

—Lord Sam Orum, CEO & Founder of

1Voice Worldwide

Clayton Moore’s reality is powerful, eye opening, and disappointing at the same time as he takes readers through his life as a small-town sports hero to a Black man looked down upon and lies told about him. A Good Cop he definitely was, but being a Black Cop put him in a trap that almost ruined his life. Everyone needs to read this TRUTH!

—Chetaun Smith, owner of Vision 20/20 Realtors LLC and Vision 20/20 Consulting LLC,

author of You’ve Got the Job, Now What?

Good Cop, Black Cop:

Guilty Until Proven Innocent

a memoir

Clayton Moore

Copyright © 2021 by CLAYTON MOORE

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, scanning, recording, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that neither the author nor the publisher is engaged in rendering legal, investment, accounting or other professional services. While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional when appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, personal, or other damages.

GOOD COP, BLACK COP

Guilty Until Proven Innocent: A Memoir

By CLAYTON MOORE

1. BIO027000 2. BIO002010 3. POL014000

ISBN: 978-1-949642-57-5

EBOOK: 978-1-949642-58-2

Cover design by LEWIS AGRELL

Printed in the United States of America

Authority Publishing

11230 Gold Express Dr. #310-413

Gold River, CA 95670

800-877-1097

www.AuthorityPublishing.com

Contents

Author’s Note

Foreword

Prologue

Chapter 1: I Ain’t Trying to Be No Cop

Chapter 2: Making History

Chapter 3: Stigmas and Street Cred

Chapter 4: The Badge Delivers Bad News

Chapter 5: A House Divided

Chapter 6: Ministers and Triggermen

Chapter 7: Unfinished Business

Chapter 8: The Wrong Side of the New Law

Chapter 9: Fired!

Chapter 10: Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Chapter 11: Crossing the Line

Afterword: Black Lives Matter*

Different Rules for Different Groups

Police Forces That Reflect the Community

Better Cultural Awareness Training

Better Mental Health Screening for Law Enforcement Candidates

Body Cams and Budget

Police Residency: In the Community and of the Community

Civilians Who Serve and Protect

Appendix

Notes

Resources and Recommended Reading

Acknowledgements

Author’s Note

This is a work of nonfiction. My personal experience and the events associated all happened and are outlined herein according to my best recollection and the documents available. The conversations included are recreated to the best of my recollection, and while not word-for-word, they reflect the tone and content of the original conversation. Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect people’s privacy and confidential information.

Foreword

The first time I ever worked out with Clayton was as a punishment. My sister, Meghan, had a bunch of kids over in the middle of the night one night. When my mom woke at 2:00 a.m., the kids scattered and hid. They weren’t my friends, but I was awake, so I hid too. When my mom found us, she was not happy. Meghan got grounded, but our mom made me go to conditioning training with my older brother the next day.

I cried all day leading up to the conditioning session with Coach Clayton. I pleaded with my mom, His are the hardest drills… She wasn’t hearing it. My argument that those kids weren’t even my friends didn’t move her. She reminded me of the extent of my punishment: that I had to do the entire set of drills like everybody else. Later that afternoon, I walked my middle schooler self onto the field full of high schoolers.

As I’d imagined, it was horrible. But halfway through, I thought, You know what, it is what it is. I’m just as athletic as these high schoolers anyway, so I might as well make the most of it. When I got to high school, Clayton became my football coach and after that my stepdad. A few years ago, Clayton told my mom that ever since that day on the football field he knew I was going to be something special because I sucked it up and went to work.

I attribute part of my success to Clayton’s belief in me. When he gets something in his head, he’s the most passionate person ever. He just won’t quit. He has a vision, and he sees it through.

This book reflects his vision. Yes, it’s about how he was wrongly accused of misconduct and what he went through in an attempt to clear his name, but it’s more than that. It’s about identity. It’s about community.

As I was considering what to say in this foreword, I was asked how I identify myself—as a black man or in some other way. The conversation that followed started with the obvious lines of discussion. My initial answer was that I don’t predominantly identify as black or white. I feel for both. I understand both. I can put myself in a white person’s shoes and understand what she or he is talking about just like I can put myself in a black person’s shoes and understand what he or she is talking about. As a biracial person, I honestly feel like I have the best of both worlds; I don’t have to choose between identifying as black or white.

But as the conversation unfolded, I shared examples of Clayton’s love of his hometown and the people in it: the fact that he recently painted his home workout room red and black, Fostoria high school’s colors; how for as long as I can remember he’s been involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters; and what being a Fostorian means to him. I realized that although Clayton is a black man, his identity doesn’t come from that. His community and his place in it are where he gets his identity.

If you’re nearly sixty years old and painting part of your house your high school colors, that’s passion. That’s passion for football. That’s passion for where you live. When you grow up in a small town like we did, I think you tend to want to defend it, to do your part to make it better. That’s how we all were growing up. We’ve always talked about giving back to Fostoria: As soon as we get out of college, as soon as we get some money in our pocket, we want to give Fostoria a new football stadium. We want to give Fostoria a new downtown. To this day, we still talk about stuff like that.

When I was in college, I got my first opportunity to make good on those dreams. I was fortunate. I got to go to college on a football scholarship. It was while I was there that I started the Imagine for Youth nonprofit. I wanted to give back and not just to kids in my hometown but kids around the nation. We started with sports equipment, and now we do football camps and give away backpacks and school supplies. Eventually we want to offer substantial academic scholarships to kids who otherwise wouldn’t be able to go to college. My position as an NFL player has certainly helped attract supporters, but what I want is for the foundation to become its own thing, to be self-sustaining and not attached to my name. I want it to have its own identity because it’s not about me. When my business professor challenged us to create an organization, I did what I’d always wanted to do. I guess you could say that I answered that call to action.

Police officer is an identity. Serve and protect is a calling.

We all have multiple identities, and we answer many calls. But I think the people who are the happiest and most effective are the ones who find their place in the world by finding where passion, identity, and calling intersect and then do everything in their power to defend it and create a safe haven for others.

Through his public service, perseverance, and this book, Clayton empowers and encourages people of all ethnicities, backgrounds, and beliefs to embrace what is (whether fair or unfair), overcome obstacles, and be forces of good.

Some of you may have been attracted to this book because you’ve experienced a wound similar to Clayton’s. Some may have come for the opportunity to see life from a point of view that differs from your own. Others may know Clayton and want to get to know him better. Regardless of why you came to this book, I hope you’ll leave as I did, more grounded in who you are and with a better sense of how important you are to the people in your community.

Micah Hyde

Starting defensive back for the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills and Founder of Imagine for Youth

Prologue

In August of 2008, the local paper published an article about me. It wasn’t the first time, but this one was different. Previously, they’d been about my athletic performance and community service. This time it was an article titled, Officer’s personnel file loaded with allegations, and it listed the sixteen reasons cited for my termination from the Fostoria Police Department.¹

It took me a long time to even be able to say the word fired. Let go, laid off, terminated. I used any word or phrase other than fired. It was an incredibly painful time in my life, but all the things that happened during and after that time made me feel like God was telling me, I’m taking care of you. Yeah, I know they pushed you out, but you know what, there are better things for you on the horizon, and you’re gonna see that. And why would I have felt any other way about it? Whatever had been done to me or by me in my life that was bad, God has always turned around and made good. So, yes, I was fired, but that’s not the end of the story.

When people hear my story, they often say, You should write a book! I thought about it for a long time but resisted for various reasons. After the 2016 election and with all the controversy over the Black Lives Matter movement, I couldn’t resist writing this. That desire to put my thoughts to paper for others meant I’d have to overcome my biggest fear—the fear of letting people down, that I won’t live up to what I want this to be.

I think a lot of you have a similar fear. Like me, I suspect that you aren’t afraid to take that step of doing something you feel so strongly about, something that will expose you but might make a huge difference in someone’s life or your community or state, or maybe even contribute to a shift in thinking on a nationwide level. None of us know how far our ideas will travel and how deep of an impression we might make. Like me, you probably want to make sure you’re taking enough good steps to make a difference.

That’s what this book is for me. It’s the step I need to take. I can only hope and pray that it is enough and that I can make an even bigger difference by sharing it with you.

Good Cop, Black Cop offers a nuanced approach to the topic of what it means to be black in twenty-first century America, including my experiences growing up and joining the police force, learning the ropes and becoming established, then dealing with my downfall and fight to get my job back. It explores my contradictory thoughts and feelings about race and justice and one of the most polarizing social movements in modern history.

My hope is that by being as candid as possible in my not-yet-totally-consciously-evolved humanness (you know, the state we’re all in whether we admit it or not), I can offer space for a conversation between all people: the secular and faithful, conservatives and progressives, cops and convicts.

Active duty or retired, being a police officer is an identity. We’ve taken an oath to serve and protect. This book is an extension of that mission. I hope it contributes to the conversation about racism and its human cost by offering a perspective that bridges the gap between officers and civilians, officers of color and white officers, conservatives and liberals, and every person who contributes to (consciously or unconsciously) or is affected by institutional racism. My mission is to create change somewhere, change that relieves pain, gives hope, and empowers readers regardless of their color to do something—to stand up, kneel down, or reach out in some way to people they may not have otherwise, and to view