CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) Wyomings first Black sheriff last year fired a high-ranking white deputy who is accused of tormenting a Black subordinate for years with racist name-calling that led him to quit, a new federal lawsuit reveals.

Albany County Patrol Sgt. Christian Handley once drove past and yelled a profanity and the N-word at Cpl. Jamin Johnson while Johnson and his wife and children were walking out of their home, according to one example of racism alleged in the discrimination lawsuit filed last week.

Mr. Handley later apologized for having not realized that Mr. Johnsons family was present, as if his vile racism was otherwise acceptable, the lawsuit says.

Johnson is suing Handley, seeking a jury trial if necessary and damages for the years of racism that he says made him quit in 2017.

The allegations put a new spotlight on the sheriffs office in Laramie, the Albany County seat known for the murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard in 1998, a crime that drew unprecedented attention to LGBTQ rights and hate crimes. The racism allegations come after Sheriff Aaron Appelhans appointment as Wyomings first Black sheriff in the wake of an outcry in Laramie over a deputys 2018 shooting of an unarmed man who had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder.

Handley used racial slurs to refer not only to Johnson but to Black citizens he came in contact with on the job, including four University of Wyoming students who were in a vehicle he once pulled over, according to Johnsons lawsuit against Handley, filed Jan. 18 in U.S. District Court in Cheyenne. The suit didnt provide the reason for the stop.

Handley declined to comment when reached by phone and asked about the lawsuit Monday. Appelhans did not immediately respond to email and phone messages seeking comment.

Besides using racial epithets, Handleys years of taunts against Johnson included telling him that being intimate with a Black woman would be degrading, according to the lawsuit.

An internal review two months after Appelhans took office found that despite Handleys widespread and well-known racism, Handley was emboldened by getting preferential treatment for promotions ahead of the more-experienced Johnson, the lawsuit alleges.

Appelhans fired Handley after the investigation in early 2021, according to the lawsuit.

Appelhans predecessor from the time of the allegations, former Sheriff Dave OMalley also declined to comment Monday. The lawsuit mentions OMalley but does not accuse him of wrongdoing.

Because OMalley was a Democrat, his 2020 retirement allowed local Democratic officials to nominate Appelhans and two other finalists to complete his elected term, which ends in early 2023.

Handley began subjecting Johnson to overt and abhorrent racism when they were both deputies from 2011 to 2014 and Johnson was the departments only Black officer, the lawsuit alleges.