The Lieutenant on the Bus

A Black army lieutenant boarded a bus on a southern army post. The driver ordered him to move to the back. He refused and told the driver to drive. At the end of the route the driver and a dispatcher argued with him; one used a racial slur. Military police were called. Officers later said the lieutenant was sloppy and contemptuous and questioned their orders. He was charged with disrespect to superior officers and disobeying orders. His lawyer argued the witnesses contradicted each other and that no clear order had ever been given.