Bryce Williams — aka Vester Flanagan — sued his former bosses at a TV station in Florida back in 2000 … claiming his bosses verbally abused him because of his race, and even called him a “monkey.”

After killing 2 members of a TV news crew this morning, Flanagan accused one of the victims of racism.

Now, we’ve learned it wasn’t the first time he hurled such accusations … because in his lawsuit, filed against WTWC-TV in Florida, Vester claimed he was constantly targeted because of his race.

Here are his allegations:

— Claims producer called him a “monkey”
— Claims an “official” joked about a black murder suspect with gold and green grillz, saying he had “collared greens” stuck in his teeth
— Claims he heard a manager tell another black employee to “stop talking ebonics.”

Vester claims he filed a complaint with the powers that be — and was fired because he blew the whistle.

WTWC adamantly DENIED race had anything to do with his termination — claiming he was a crappy employee who often used profanity in the workplace.

Ultimately, the case was settled out of court in 2001. Via: TMZ