An annotated guide to racist police officers: More than a few bad apples and not just in the South

Rss@dailykos.com (shaun King) · Wednesday, September 09, 2015, 9:07 pm

Racism: It's as American as it gets and is deeply woven into the very fabric of our nation. While we are all right to advocate for new and improved policies to address police brutality and misconduct across the country, it's a mistake to do so without simultaneously addressing the ever-present realties of racism within our police departments.

Below I have detailed just a sample of cases of racism in police departments from 2014 to 2015. We're not talking about history—these cases are right here, right now. Please feel free to add additional cases in the comments section below and I will keep this list updated.

San Francisco Police Department

Description: More than a dozen San Francisco Police Officers were found to have sent outrageously racist texts to one another, including texts in which they speak of killing African Americans, hanging African Americans, cross burnings, using racial slurs about African Americans inside of the department, comparing African Americans to animals, speaking of white power, and more.

People: Known officers include Michael Robison, Noel Schwab, Rain Daugherty and Michael Celis; also, former officer Ian Furminger, who is now in prison on corruption charges

Sources: SF Gate, Huffington Post, Buzzfeed

Fort Lauderdale Police Department

Description: Officers within the department actually filmed a KKK promotional video. During an investigation, the officers were found to have texted one another racist messages about wanting to kill specific African Americans, "drinking beer and killing niggers," having "wet dreams about killing niggers," and more.

People: Officers Jason Holding, James Wells, Christopher Sousa, Alex Alvarez

Sources: Daily Kos, NBC Miami

Montgomery County Sheriff's Office (Dayton, Ohio)

Description: Racist text messages include comments about "hanging niggers from trees" and one random message simply stating, "I hate niggers. That's all."

People: Capt. Tommy Flanders and Internal Affairs’s Michael Sollenberger and three other deputies in the department

Sources:WDTN Channel 2 News, Daily Mail

Miami Beach Police Department

Description: Over 540 text messages were discovered that included racist memes, racist graphics, and cartoons, including many calling African Americans niggers, calling President Obama a nigger, and more.

People: Capt. Alex Carulo, Maj. Angel Vazquez, and at least 15 other officers

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