Within the first two years after the lawsuit, Hall said, supervisors began aggressively scrutinizing his behavior: an extremely minor error in his daily report sparked an internal affairs investigation; his take-home vehicle was taken away, while others in the detachment still had theirs; his key to a fitness center was deactivated, and for the first time in 20 years, he received a “needs improvement” rating in an annual evaluation. … Johnson, for his part, said in the lawsuit that he was denied at least five promotions since the lawsuit ended, although [his attorney said] he holds a master’s degree in public administration. (Within the last month and after the lawsuit was filed, Johnson has since been promoted to detective sergeant.)

Since Hall and Johnson’s lawsuit, other black troopers have come forward with their tales of differential treatment by the organization. One black member of the organization’s K9 unit—the only black member at the time—says that he was accused of requesting too much overtime and that he was demoted for leaving a sporting event early. Contrast this treatment with that meted out to another state trooper during the same time period:

In June 2013, a trooper left his two canines in a locked car with no ventilation for 10 hours, and they died, records show ... Yet that trooper, who is white, was issued only a written reprimand … After that incident, State Police noted in a statement from October 2015 that prosecutors cleared the trooper of any criminal wrongdoing, and that canine unit vehicles now have sensors in them so that the mistake is not repeated.

The MSP has, of course, denied any wrongdoing. The agency’s director, Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue, the first woman ever to hold the position, knows the department has a problem and says they are actively working to increase the number of black troopers.

Unfortunately, women haven’t fared so well either.

Despite having its first female director in Etue, the MSP also has moved backward in terms of gender representation. Only 8.3% of state troopers are women, down from 10.9% when the consent decree was lifted in 1993, and 13.4% in 2000. “That is disappointing,” Etue said, adding that she expects improvements in those numbers as well. The department hasn't recruited a black female trooper since 2004. There were no female troopers of any race at the time of the federal lawsuit — only seven policewomen, not assigned to regular road duties. Male colleagues nicknamed them the “trooperettes.”

All societies and the institutions they birth have “others”—those who don’t fit in. White supremacist hetero-patriarchal institutions are no different, even when they say they want diversity. Even when they say they really, really want it, and they are actively working to fit the “others” in.

They just can’t help themselves.