(CNN) A white police officer is suing because he said fellow officers began racially taunting him when he told them he was part black. 
 
 Officer Cleon Brown said he took a genetic test through Ancestry.com, which revealed he was 18 percent African. 
 
 The discrimination began, he alleges, when he shared the result with his colleagues at the police department in Hastings, Michigan 
 
 Brown's police chief referred to him as "Kunta," the lawsuit says. (Kunta Kinte is a character in Alex Haley's novel, "Roots: The Saga of an American Family.") 
 
 Co-workers started whispering "Black Lives Matter" while pumping their fists as they walked past him, he claims. 
 
 CNN was unable to reach Brown. But Brown told CNN affiliate WDIV , "It was almost like a disgraced type of reaction that I got from them like, 'Why are you proud of this type of thing?'" 
 
 Veteran officer vs.city 
 
 Brown is a sergeant at Hastings PD and has been with the department for 19 years. 
 
 In 2016, he took the Ancestry.com test and "proudly told other Hastings employees of the test and result," his suit says. 
 
 The series of taunts began soon afterward, he says. The police chief, fellow officers and the former mayor allegedly used derogatory remarks about his race. 
 
 "It's very hurtful, I was so, so upset and still upset about it," Brown told the affiliate. 
 
 The city's version of events is different. 
 
 In a statement to CNN, it said that Brown, on many occasions, made "derogatory, inappropriate, insensitive,and rude comments about African-Americans. 
 
 The city statement also said Brown "joked" about the results of the genetic test with colleagues: 
 
 "Other officers have stated that after Brown first told them about the test results they never approached him about it again. Instead, it was Brown who specifically went to other officers, raised the topic, joked about it, and engaged in typical racial stereotypes. Clearly, Sgt. Brown welcomed his interaction with other officers on this topic." 
 
 As is the case in many lawsuits, the two sides disagree about the contentions. 
 
 "My client never joked about his race/origin. He is very proud of it," Brown's lawyer, Karie Boyland, told CNN. "Nothing to joke about." 
 
 The Santa head 
 
 Around Christmas 2016, someone placed a black Santa head in his Christmas stocking. It had "18%" written on its beard, the suit says. 
 
 "I call it straight up racism," Brown told the affiliate. 
 
 The city rebuts the officer's claims. 
 
 "During this most recent holiday season, a good friend of Brown found a tan color ceramic Santa head sitting in his own stocking with "18%" written on it. Not knowing where it came from and knowing his friendship with Brown, the officer placed it in Brown's stocking," the city statement said. 
 
 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 head that Brown was upset about the incident." 
 
 Brown's lawyer doesn't buy that explanation. 
 
 "It's a manufactured defense, but what else can they say?" she said. 
 
 The lawsuit says Brown has suffered stress at work which has led to health complications. He is asking for half a million dollars. 

 HASTINGS, Mich. - A Hastings police officer has filed a lawsuit after he says he was discriminated against when he found out he was 18 percent African. 
 
 Sgt. Cleon Brown has served 19 years on the Hastings police force. He claims that when he found out from a DNA registry that he was part African, he started being treated differently at work. 
 
 “It was almost a disgraced reaction I got from them like, 'Why are you proud of this type of thing,'” Brown said. 
 
 He first filed an EEO complaint, but he said things only got worse after that. 
 
 The lawsuit alleges that the police chief, former mayor, city manager and deputy chief discriminated against him. 
 
 According to Brown’s attorney, the chief called him a name in reference to a slave from a book in front of other people. 
 
 The lawsuit also claims that a stocking with a black Santa and "18 percent" was on the department’s Christmas tree. 
 
 “I call it straight-up racism,” Brown said. 
 
 The city said Brown made jokes himself about being part black. 
 
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– For most of his 47 years, Michigan police sergeant Cleon Brown lived life as a white man—then a DNA test last year showed he's 18% sub-Saharan African. Now, Brown has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Hastings, the New York Times reports. He tells WDIV he's faced "straight-up racism" from fellow officers and city officials. Brown says he was "proud" when he got the results of the DNA test, but his fellow officers seemed confused why he'd feel that way. Brown's lawsuit claims he was called "Kunta" by his chief and had fellow officers whisper "black lives matter" at him when they passed. He says the mayor at the time used a joke with the word "Negroid" around him, and someone put a black Santa in his department Christmas stocking. Brown is seeking at least $500,000, claiming he's suffered stress and related health complications from his coworkers' behavior, CNN reports. The city is contesting the lawsuit, claiming it was Brown making racial jokes. The city says officers never brought it up, but Brown kept approaching them and saying things like he now gets why he "likes chicken so much" and "the 18% is all in my pants." Furthermore, the city says Brown has a history of making disparaging comments about black people. For his part, Brown says the experience has made him better understand the animosity between the black community and police. He says he's been reading articles and watching YouTube videos on the issue.