Cousins, who was commander of the Sixth District, allegedly arrived and ordered officers to take the handcuffs off the man, return the gun to the man’s wife, omit from reports any mention of shots being fired, and not process shell casings found at the scene as evidence.

But Cousins gives a different account in his lawsuit. He said white officers handcuffed the man, who is black, and searched the home without a warrant. Two officers, one white and one black, questioned the man without reading him his Miranda rights, the lawsuit said.

“Because their home had been burglarized twice within a short period of time, officers assumed that they were criminals instead of victims,” according to the lawsuit.

“To cover up their actions and keep Cousins from finding out what they had done, the officers claimed that Cousins told them to file a false police report and not to seize evidence at the scene,” the suit claimed.

The lawsuit also claims that officers regularly violate rights of African-American residents in the city “because they know they will be protected (not disciplined) when they engage in such misconduct.”