 GRAND RAPIDS, MI - A Hastings police sergeant who says he was ridiculed at the police station after a genetic test showed he was part black settled his lawsuit against the city and top officials.  (CNN) A white police officer in Michigan who says he was taunted by fellow officers when he told them that he was part black will receive a $65,000 settlement, his attorney said. '," he told CNN affiliate WDIV 
 
 The Santa head 
 
 Around Christmas 2016, someone placed a black Santa head in his Christmas stocking. It goes on to say: "The officer who placed the Santa in Brown's stocking then went to Brown to apologize for doing so, since he heard that Brown was upset about the incident." He said other officers whispered, "Black Lives Matters," and pumped their fists, while the police chief called him, "Kunte," a character in Alex Haley's novel, "Roots: The Saga of an American Family." Brown started his own trouble by joking about results of the DNA test that he said showed he was "18-percent African American," the city said. City Manager Jeff Mansfield released a statement on the city's behalf: "Suffice it to say that the process to resolve these matters is less than perfect, so the outcome of the process is less than ideal. As part of the settlement, Brown will continue receiving salary and benefits through October 31, but he can't seek future employment with the city of Hastings, his attorney Karie Boylan said.
– A white Michigan police officer who accused fellow cops of "straight-up racism" will receive a $65,000 settlement, though he's not exactly pleased. Sgt. Cleon Brown, a 19-year veteran with the Hastings Police Department, initially demanded $500,000 from the city in a lawsuit claiming he was subject to taunts beginning in 2016 when a genetic test revealed he was 18% to 33% "sub-Saharan African," reports MLive. The suit claimed his police chief referred to Brown as "Kunta," an African slave character from Alex Haley's Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Other officers stopped talking to Brown, or would whisper "Black Lives Matter" and pump their fists in his presence, while a black Santa head with "18%" written on its beard appeared in Brown's Christmas stocking, according to the suit. "It was almost like a disgraced type of reaction that I got from them like, 'Why are you proud of this type of thing?'" the US Army veteran told WDIV when the suit was filed last May. The city disputed his account at the time, arguing Brown "specifically went to other officers, raised the topic [of his DNA test], joked about it, and engaged in typical racial stereotypes," reports CNN. Per WWMT, the city's manager now says it viewed the lawsuit as without merit but found the settlement was more favorable than "the cost and disruptive effect of defending the case." Brown's lawyer says his client is disappointed with the outcome—which allows him to remain on paid administrative leave until the end of October, when he'll resign—but couldn't afford to continue litigation. Per CNN, he plans to leave the city to find work.