District of Columbia Racism

1. The Racist E-mails

Comment: An April 11, 2001 Washington Times story reports that DC Police Chief Ramsey said "Those who slurred minorities, women or homosexuals will receive more severe punishments, while officers who are found to have committed racial profiling or violated civil rights could face criminal charges." [Emphasis added.] The Chief apparently does not think that anti-white remarks by black officers deserve any sanction. Editor.

D.C. Police Probe Blue E-Mail (03/28/01)

Racist, Vulgar Messages Sent on Patrol Car Computers

"D.C. police officers have sent each other hundreds of racist, vulgar and homophobic messages on their patrol car computers, and the department is investigating, top officials said yesterday.

"The messages "seemed to be a potpourri of hate where apparently black officers were saying negative things against white officers and white against black," Executive Assistant Chief Terrance W. Gainer said.

"Gainer said several messages include the "the F-word [and] the N-word."

"Also used, Gainer said, were " 'whitey' [and] almost every derogatory term you can come up with for the race or gender of a person."

"Ramsey said many of those messages including the N-word were sent by black officers about other black officers, but Gainer said the word is nonetheless objectionable and "doesn't belong in our police department."

(Emphasis added. Based on the Washington Post story 03/28/01, page A01, by Arthur Santana and Allan Lengel.)

[Last known link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3522-2001Mar28.html ]

Racist E-Mail Spurs Change (04/01/01)

"Police searched through the last year's e-mails looking for keywords, including vulgarities and racial slurs. The search turned up messages in which officers talked about their private lives, about each other, about departmental brass and about civilians -- sometimes using prejudiced words or tones.

"Executive Assistant Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer paraphrased several offensive messages: "I feel like going out and punching whitey today"; "What do you call a white man in a group of a 1,000 blacks? Warden"; and "Let's stop that person, because he's dating a white girl."

"The messages also will be shared with the FBI and the U.S. Justice Department for an investigation of possible civil rights violations."

(Emphasis added. Based on the Washington Post Story Apr. 1, 2001 page C02.)

[Last known link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22081-2001Apr1.html ]

Internal probe by police yields 'hate-filled' e-mail (03/28/01)

"The racist messages, many containing the n-word, were sent between black officers, while others were directed at suspects by both black and white officers, Chief Gainer said.

"The messages also contained sexual comments about female officers and other women, and some content was derogatory toward homosexuals, Chief Gainer said."

(Emphasis added. Based on the Washington Times story 03/28/01 by John Drake.)

[Last known link: http://www.washtimes.com/metro/default-2001328233536.htm ]

Washington police under fire for offensive e-mail (03/29/01)

"An embarrassed Washington police force vowed on Wednesday to sniff out officers responsible for sending hundreds of racist, homophobic and vulgar text messages over their patrol car communication system.

"Terrance Gainer, assistant chief of police for the District of Columbia, told reporters about 10 percent of the 3,600-member force were thought to be involved and the department had launched an investigation. The messages were uncovered during a routine analysis of the computerized system.

"Vulgar terms like the F-word and any derivation you could possibly think of, other words were homophobic, there was a lot of sexual banter," Gainer said, describing the messages.

"Racist comments flew between all ethnic combinations. "There was a large group of messages that used racial terms like the N-word ... (but) it was diverse racism, pejorative comments from black to black, white to white, white to brown, brown to black," Gainer said. [Emphasis added.]

"He added some conversations seemed to relate to illegal activities. Messages had been found which read "Let's go buy some dope" or "Let's go beat this person up."

(Emphasis added. Based on the story in ChinaDaily.Com 03/29/01)

[Last known link: http://chinadaily.com.cn.net/cover/storydb/2001/03/29/mn-lfema.329.html ]

2. Racially Segregated Police Meetings?

Segregated Meetings Decried as Divisive (04/11/01)

"Ramsey Gatherings Upset Some On Force"

"D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey will meet tomorrow with black police officials to discuss their concerns -- the first of a planned series of meetings with groups including Hispanics, women and gays that some officers called discriminatory and potentially divisive.

"But some officers said such segregated meetings could further divide the police ranks. "If he wants to put special issues on the table, whether it be black, white or Hispanic, I think it should be opened up to anyone who wants to come," said Lt. Michael Smith, a white officer in the 3rd District. "If he doesn't do that, the other groups become suspicious and distrustful. It's just human nature."

"The controversy over the meetings surfaced after an internal police memo dated April 5 invited "black officials" to tomorrow's meeting at headquarters.

"Ronald Hampton, president of the National Black Police Association, said discussing racial issues with segregated groups is a good idea.

"But a white police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: "It's a slap in the face. It's just excluding people because of the color of their skin. I've got a problem with that. We're one department. We're supposed to all be blue. Somebody is going to be left out."

"Ramsey said he eventually plans to do just that, meeting with integrated groups. "I'm not trying to split the department; I'm trying to bring it together," he added."

(Based on the Washington Post story 04/11/01 page B02 by Allan Lengel and Arthur Santana)

[Last known link: http://www.washingtonpost. com/ac2/wp-dyn/A1906-2001Apr10?language=printer]

3. Email Gold Mine for Defense Attorneys?

Defense demands access to police e-mails (04/11/01)

"[Criminal] Defense attorneys are demanding to see the e-mail messages of Metropolitan Police Department officers to see if they contain any information that could weaken criminal prosecutions against their clients.

"A review of messages sent by 10 officers involved in two of the criminal cases yielded no offensive or inappropriate comments, said Channing Phillips, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District. A "labor intensive" review of messages by officers for two other cases is under way, he said.

"If the search uncovers prejudicial comments by the arresting officers, the drug and weapons charges could be dismissed against two suspects.

"D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey said yesterday he was not surprised that defense attorneys are looking into the messages. "Defense attorneys are doing what defense attorneys do —they're fishing to see what they can find. That's what they're paid to do," the chief said.

"Chief Ramsey said the messages could "potentially" damage cases and create credibility problems.

"We don't have a racist police department here in D.C.," he said. "We've got a few officers whose behavior we don't like." However, the Chief indicated that he will only punish "Those who slurred minorities, women or homosexuals" and that "officers who are found to have committed racial profiling or violated civil rights could face criminal charges." [Emphasis added.]

(Based on the Washington Times story 04/11/01 by John Drake)

[Last known link: http://www.washtimes.com/metro/default-2001411225420.htm]

End Police Fire Washington, DC

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