Questions arise over credibility of San Francisco cop accusing the city of harassment

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- New details about a San Francisco cop, who in April filed a complaint against the police department and city, are raising questions about his background and credibility.

The officer, who joined the San Francisco Police Department in 2016 and is of Afghan descent, accused fellow officers of religious and ethnic harassment, filing a formal complaint with the City's Equal Employment Opportunity department.

During an April news conference with Public Defender Jeff Adachi, the officer - who asked to not be identified for safety reasons - said slurs and taunting from his colleagues were "relentless."

An ISIS flag on his locker was sketched on his locker, he said, and inscribed "go back."

A few months earlier, in November, he reported the harassment to Internal Affairs, asking that the officers in question go through implicit bias training.

The discrimination, he said, came while he was working out of Central station and Richmond station.

RELATED: Afghan Muslim officer files complaint accusing San Francisco police department of discrimination

Now, ABC7 News has learned more about the officer's background, including allegations of questionable and untruthful behavior.

In 2013, the Napa Police Department was alerted that the man, who was not yet an officer, told a woman on a dating website he was a high-level CIA agent. He claimed to have been involved in the killing of Osama Bin Laden, according to a police source.

Napa investigators were concerned and issued a Suspicious Persons All Points Bulletin to Bay Area law enforcement agencies who may have encountered similar incidents.

Then, in 2015, the man was accepted as a recruit in the Oakland Police Academy. He was "dismissed" in March of that year after a brief tenure, according to the Oakland Police Department.

Department officials would not say why he was let go, but sources with knowledge of the dismissal say the officer was kicked out for "untruthfulness" in class assignments.

He then applied and was accepted into SFPD's Academy.

The San Francisco Police Department says it conducts background checks on all recruits.

It is not known whether a background check was done on this officer, or whether the SFPD knew about the Napa bulletin or his dismissal from the OPD Academy. It's also unclear if the officer was truthful about his past employment with OPD.

Adachi told ABC7 News he can't comment because it is an "employment matter."

The officer's attorney Lateef Gray tells ABC7 News his client "denies the information released by Napa Police regarding his posing as a CIA agent."

Gray says the officer passed a lie detector test and a background check when he applied to SFPD. He says he does not know why his client left OPD.

SFPD declined to comment on the specifics, including questions about the extent of its background checks for new recruits.

Six different officers, who did not want to be identified, said the revelations bring into question the person's credibility and character.

The officer who filed the complaint went through the SFPD Academy in 2016 and is currently working on probationary status as a new hire.