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>> WHILE GOING THROUGH THE INCIDENT WAS A VERY SURREA MOMENT. REPORTER: MARYLAND LEGAL AID ATTORNEY RASHAD JAMES SAYS HE WAS DOING HIS JOB MARCH 6, AT HARFORD COUNTY DISTRICT COURT IN BEL AIR AFTER SUCCESSFULLY GETTING AN EXPUNGEMENT FOR A CLIENT WHO WAS NOT THERE A SHERIFF’S DEPUTY STOPPED HIM IN THE COURTROOM AND BEGAN QUESTIONING IF HE WAS REALLY A LAWYER OR IMPERSONATING ONE. >> AFTER THE HEARING, THAT’S WHEN I ENCOUNTERED THE OFFIC WHO INCORRECTLY CALLED ME BY THE NAME OF THE CLIENT I STATED THAT I WAS NOT THE CLIENT. I WAS THE CLIENT’S ATTORNEY. REPORTER: THE DEPUTY THEN ASKED FOR IDENTIFICATION. JAMES SAYS HE SHOWED HIS DRIVER’S LICENSE. >> THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE END OF I I ASSURE YOU THAT IF IT HAD BEEN ME, I WOULD HAVE WALKED OUT YOUR -- WALKED OUT. REPORTER: THE OFFICER APPARENTLY WANTED MORE VERIFICATION SINCE JAMES DIDN’T HAVE HIS STATE BAR CARD OR BUSINESS CARDS WHICH HE IS NOT REQUIRED TO CARRY HE HAD THE OFFICER CALL HIS SUPERVISOR. >> IF MR. JAMES WERE WHITE, THIS WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED. REPORTER: HIS ATTORNEYS HAVE FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE HARFORD COUNTY SHERIFF. >> IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ENOUGH WHEN MR.JAMES APPEARED IN COURT AND THE JUDGE ACCEPTED ON THE RECORD THAT HE WAS AN ATTORNEY AND HIS CLIENT WAS ABSENT. THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ENOUGH AT THAT MOMENT BUT IT WASN’T FOR THAT OFFICER. REPORTER: SHERIFF JEFFREY GAHLER SENT THIS STATEMENT TO 11 NEWS. SINCE THE INCIDENT JAMES SAYS HE NOW CARRIES BUSINESS CARDS WITH HIM. >> AT NO TIME DID I FEEL IN DANGER I KNEW REGARDLESS, I WASN’T IN THE WRON REPORTER: ATTORNEYS FOR JAMES WANT A FULL INVESTIGATION, THE INCIDENT NOTED IN THE OFFICER’S PERSONNEL FILE SENSITIVTY AND IMPLICIT BIAS TRAINING FOR OFFICERS AND AN APOLOGY FOR MR. , JAMES. REPORTING FROM THE NEWSROOM, BARRY SIMMS WBAL TV 11

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Lawyers have filed a complaint against the Harford County Sheriff's Office, requesting an investigation after an African-American legal aid attorney was detained after a sheriff insisted he was the client in the case and not the attorney."While going through the incident, it was sort of a very surreal moment," said Rashad James, legal aid attorney. James says he was doing his job March 6 at Harford County District Court in Bel Air. After successfully getting an expungement for a client who was not there, a sheriff's deputy stopped him in the courtroom and began questioning if he was really a lawyer or impersonating one. "After the hearing, that's when I encountered the officer who incorrectly called me by the name of the client. I stated that I was not the client, that I was, in fact, the client's attorney," James said. The deputy then asked for identification, James says he showed his driver's license."That should have been the end of it. I assure you that, if it had been me, I would have just walked out," said Andrew Freeman, James' attorney. The officer apparently wanted more verification since James didn't have his state bar card or business cards, which he is not required to carry. He had the officer call his supervisor."If Mr. James were white, this would not have happened," said Chelsea Crawford, James' second attorney. His attorneys have filed a complaint with the Harford County sheriff. "It should have been enough when Mr. James appeared in court and the judge accepted on the record that he was an attorney and his client was absent. That should have been enough, and at that moment, it wasn't for that officer," Crawford said. Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler sent a statement to 11 News, writing, "The Harford County Sheriff's Office is aware of these accusations, as we received a formal complaint this afternoon. As with all complaints, the complaint filed on behalf of Mr. James was promptly assigned to the Harford County Sheriff's Office - Office of Professional Standards for a complete and thorough investigation. We take all complaints seriously."Since the incident, James says he now carries business cards with him."At no time did I feel in danger. I knew, regardless, that I wasn't in the wrong," James said.The Maryland Legal Aid released a statement Tuesday, saying, "Maryland Legal Aid is incensed at the treatment of our colleague, Mr. Rashad James, an extremely talented and dedicated civil legal aid attorney, who under MLA's Community Lawyering Initiative, is tasked with navigating every stretch of this state to provide civil legal counsel and representation for Maryland's poorest and most vulnerable individuals and communities. That includes in Harford County, where this deeply disturbing incident unfolded.We stand behind Rashad today, and behind others who have experienced racial profiling and discrimination--a threat to their basic human and civil rights--with the objective to prevent an incident like this from ever happening again. Discrimination has no place in our society, especially not within the ranks of our judicial system, where the legal playing field is often already unleveled for citizens who cannot afford legal representation. We would like to thank Andrew Freeman, Chelsea Crawford, and their team at Brown Goldstein & Levy, for representing Attorney James in this matter. We are hopeful that the Harford County Sheriff's Office will take the steps necessary to conduct an internal investigation into this incident and we look forward to a satisfactory outcome for all parties involved."