Coast coroner swears he's 'color blind.' Payments show he's not, black funeral homes say.

Gulfport -- Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove told a jury in federal court that he does not see color when spending public money with funeral homes, but attorneys for six black-owned funeral homes say the proof is in the numbers, which show two white-owned companies receive the vast majority of the business.

David Owens, a Chicago attorney for the black-owned funeral homes, called Hargrove to the witness stand Wednesday afternoon and questioned him for more than two hours.

Hargrove returns to the stand Thursday morning in U.S. District Court, where Judge Keith Starrett is presiding. Hargrove and the county will present their case next.

Hargrove investigates about 50 to 55 percent of the deaths each year in Harrison County, adding up to 5,821 cases during the period the defense has focused on: 2012 to mid-2016.

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