I just couldn’t resist quoting this partial page describing emails sent by Ferguson employees to their coworkers. These came to light, and were cited in the Justice Department investigation of the Ferguson police and “justice” (municipal court) systems. I can’t imagine someone being so insensitive as to send such “jokes” in the first place; and so stupid as to send them on official email accounts where they work. I guess they assumed that no-one was going to investigate them. But, “murder will out” and all evil deeds eventually come to light, even if the individuals involved have long since died. So: with the understanding that I heartily disapprove of the sentiments expressed below.
“We have discovered evidence of racial bias in emails sent by Ferguson officials, all of whom are current employees, almost without exception through their official City of Ferguson email accounts, and apparently sent during work hours. These email exchanges involved several police and court supervisors, including FPD supervisors and commanders. The following emails are illustrative:
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.
Our review of documents revealed many additional email communications that exhibited racial or ethnic bias, as well as other forms of bias. Our investigation has not revealed any indicationthat any officer or court clerk engaged in these communications was ever disciplined. Nor did we see a single instance in which a police or court recipient of such an email asked that the sender refrain from sending such emails, or any indication that these emails were reported as inappropriate. Instead, the emails were usually forwarded along to others.“
Conrad Theodore Seitz 