|
|
|
| NEWS > 18 July 2007 |
Other related articles:
Troy police questioned after c
TROY — City council members grilled the city of Troy’s three police officers Friday on their actions in the weeks since the police chief was suspended.
Meeting in special session, the council pressed the officers on why at least one of them cleaned the police department office, including throwing away some papers, even though the area might contain evidence in a criminal investigation of Chief David Seward.
The council suspended Seward with pay after meeting in executive session July 11, city officials said. During a second meeting July 20, the council voted to continue ... Read more
|
 Article sourced from
|
|
Hartford Courant - United Stat
18 July 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
|
Connecticut State Police
|
Rell: Police Racism Intolerabl
As local NAACP officials requested a federal investigation into complaints of racial discrimination within the state police, Gov. M. Jodi Rell denounced racism at the graduation of 60 troopers Thursday, warning that "unequal treatment, harassment of any kind will not be tolerated."
"You are the face of the state police. You are expected to uphold the law with fairness and justice," Rell told the graduating class, which included only one black trooper, during the graduation ceremony at the University of Connecticut. "Racism ... will be rooted out and eliminated."
Her comments came hours before NAACP officials announced they had asked the U.S. Department of Justice to step in and investigate complaints of racism, including offensive e-mails circulated among troopers assigned to the state police forensic laboratory.
The group also requested a meeting with Rell to discuss how she plans to address complaints of racism within state government and the lack of black people in leadership positions of state agencies. Sgt. Andrew Crumbie, who held a prestigious position in the Connecticut State Police, filed two complaints with the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, accusing the Department of Public Safety and M. Lisa Moody, the governor's chief of staff, with discrimination that led to his demotion. Rell and Moody have denied that allegation.
Although Rell did not mention the e-mails in her speech, she later said her comments were made because of the e-mails and recent allegations made about the state police. Those allegations have sparked internal investigations.
"Let me tell you what is at stake," Rell told the troopers. "People will lose faith in any organization where race or harassment or discrimination exists. We would rightly question whether we could rely on that organization for justice and fairness, and question the integrity of our very government."
Fairness and integrity were what NAACP officials say prompted their request for a federal investigation.
Crumbie, who was at the NAACP press conference Thursday, said there has been "an atmosphere of tolerance" of racist behavior within the agency. He and others said they are also troubled that there was only one black recruit out of the entire graduating class.
"We are tired of the state of Connecticut turning a deaf ear," said Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Connecticut state conference of NAACP branches. "I think there is definitely racism within the Department of Public Safety. The power at the end of the day resides with the governor."
This is the first time the NAACP has asked for a Justice Department investigation into the state police, Esdaile said.
Dawne Westbrook, the group's attorney, said five troopers have filed complaints of racial discrimination with her group or through a lawsuit.
The problem was made public in June when Crumbie filed a complaint with the CHRO, saying high-ranking state police officers used derogatory words about his race.
This week, e-mails that were sent among troopers assigned to the forensic lab surfaced. One showed a still photograph of a black man lying on the street surrounded by watermelon rinds and chicken bones. The headline said "fatal overdose?" The other e-mail had a video attachment of a little white girl who sat at a kitchen table and spewed hateful racial slurs with the encouragement of two adults.
"It is not only about Andrew," Esdaile said. "We have a pervasive problem within the Department of Public Safety."
|
| |
 EiP Comments:
|
|---|
|
| |
* We have no wish to infringe the copyright of any newspaper or periodical. If you feel that we have done so then please contact us with the details and we will remove the article. The articles republished on this site are provided for the purposes of research , private study, criticism , review, and the reporting of current events' We have no wish to infringe the copyright of any newspaper , periodical or other works. If you feel that we have done so then please contact us with the details and where necessary we will remove the work concerned.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
 |
Ethics in Policing, based in the UK, provide information and advice about the following:
Policing Research | Police News articles | Police Corruption | International Policing | Police Web Sites | Police Forum | Policing Ethics | Police Journals | Police Publications |
|
| |
|
