Wednesday, March 04, 2015

Eric Holder's remarks about the DOJ's Ferguson investigation.

Here is a summary of Holder's remarks by The Guardian:

  • Attorney general Eric Holder said a “searing” justice department report on racial discrimination by Ferguson police contained “deeply alarming” documentation of “abusive and dangerous” behaviour. 
  • Holder defended a justice department decision not to bring charges against Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the killing last August of Michael Brown. ““I urge you to read this report in full,” he said, addressing skeptics. 
  • Holder said the justice department was ready “to force compliance and implement basic change” to fix routine civil liberties violations in Ferguson. 
  • The feds are not done with Ferguson, Holder said, calling for a “court-enforceable remedial process that includes involvement from community stakeholders as well as independent oversight.” 
  • The department of justice will engage not just Ferguson, but “surrounding municipalities – to reform their law enforcement practices,” Holder said. 
  • A justice department report exposed a pattern of racist and abusive behaviour on the part of Ferguson police and city employees. 
  • The report found that apart from fatal incidents such as the killing of Michael Brown, Ferguson police systematically harassed, over-ticketed, insulted, wrongfully arrested and physically abused African-American residents, with sometimes shattering implications for the lives of the abuse victims. 
  • The report said police dogs were only used against black people and Tasers were over-used. It published racist emails passed among city employees. 
  • Holder called the Ferguson police department a “collection agency” for the city instead of a law enforcement agency.

Here are some of the racist e-mails uncovered by the investigation, courtesy of AATTP:

A November 2008 email stated that President Barack Obama would not be President for very long because “what black man holds a steady job for four years.” 

A March 2010 email mocked African Americans through speech and familial stereotypes, using a story involving child support. One line from the email read: “I be so glad that dis be my last child support payment! Month after month, year after year, all dose payments!” 

An April 2011 email depicted President Barack Obama as a chimpanzee. A May 2011 email stated: “An African-American woman in New Orleans was admitted into the hospital for a pregnancy termination. Two weeks later she received a check for $5,000. She phoned the hospital to ask who it was from. The hospital said, ‘Crimestoppers.’” 

A June 2011 email described a man seeking to obtain “welfare” for his dogs because they are “mixed in color, unemployed, lazy, can’t speak English and have no frigging clue who their Daddies are.” 

An October 2011 email included a photo of a bare-chested group of dancing women, apparently in Africa, with the caption, “Michelle Obama’s High School Reunion.” 

A December 2011 email included jokes that are based on offensive stereotypes about Muslims.

Yeah, no racism there.

8 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:21 PM

    Never let it be forgotten that Wilson came from a different department where they cleaned house because of rampant racism. Yet he found a home in the Ferguson PD. Shocking. Maybe they should clean house there as well. And one PD hiring someone let go under bad circumstances from another, and they end up shooting an unarmed African American. Hellooooo, Cleveland, Ohio. Same damned thing.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:04 PM

      Oh you and your bullshit stories.

      Wilson was known as a good officer in Jennings with no disciplinary actions. The City Council disbanded the entire department to start from scratch because of such poor relations between the Department and the mostly black residents. You are placing guilt by association. Nice try. Wilson was allowed to reapply with Jennings, because he was not part of the problem. Instead he took a job with Ferguson.

      All the cops in Ferguson should quit, black and white. From what I saw the black cops were getting verbally abused more than the white cops during the riots. Aint that something. All the white residents should simply move out. Let it become Detroit 2.0. Detroit 1.0 is working so well.

      Holder owes Wilson a public apology. Can't wait till his emails get scoured thru. Hope he gets raked through the coals for misuse and abuse of power, race baiting, and inciting riots.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous8:18 PM

      I have to agree with the man in the white sheet and hood.

      Delete
  2. There are no words. My heart hurts and I am a 65 year old white woman. In my own area we recently (very recently) had a case of law enforcement going to the home of a black engineer in a middle class neighborhood, not giving him a reason as to why they were there and trading him in his own home in front of guests he was entertaining. He is suing! Everyone, please hope and pray and send positive energy that he wins and the guilty ones are held responsible. Again, there.are.no.words!

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  3. Anonymous7:45 PM

    It's fricken Missouri. I don't know why people are surprised that this southern state is racist as hell.

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  4. Anonymous4:33 AM

    I took my son to Missouri when he was a teenager, to Hannibal. He wanted to visit the childhood home of his idol, Mark Twain.

    All I can say is, no wonder Mark got out as soon as he could and never went back.

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  5. linda6:30 AM

    I lived for 11 years in Missouri's state capitol - Jefferson City. I moved down from Iowa where I'd lived for 40 years. Growing up I heard lots of racism and my own family members use the N word - very common prior to the 70's. By the time I moved to Missouri in 1991 Iowa had matured for the most part. My own relatives now did not use the N word. I was in Jefferson City about a week before I heard it and heard it and heard it. When it was someone I would have to deal with again I politely asked them not to use it in my presence. I moved from there about 8.5 years ago. Things were the same. I am not surprised one bit about these findings, but I am disheartened. I really thought things would continue changing all over after all the progress in the 60's and 70's. But small minded people - of which there are many - apparently just pass their intolerance, even hatred, of those not like themselves on to their progeny. I'm heading into old age and nothing would make me happier than to see this country stop re-fighting old battles, grow up, and be the country it was meant to be before I die.

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