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Chief in Md. Urges Close Of Internet Police Forum
Several community leaders and officers said yesterday that although they understand the department has no direct control over the board and its content, the command staff has largely ignored concerns about the messages.
Detective Terry Ridgley, president of the black officers association, said he met with Manger to bring the issue to his attention several months ago. He said Manger was attentive and seemed concerned but didn't ask to see the messages.
  Chief J. Thomas Manger says the message board is owned and run by a private enterprise, not the police department. (Leslie E. Kossoff - AP) |
Portions of the messages from the password-protected forum -- which may be accessed only by union members -- were turned over to police internal affairs investigators in at least two instances, said Lt. Eric Burnett, a police spokesman. He said he could not disclose the outcome of those cases.
"I heard from a lot of officers who are happy that this finally came out," Ridgley said. He stressed that he doesn't think the offensive messages reflect the values and professionalism of the majority of officers. Many of them feel the vitriolic content has harmed morale and strained trust among officers, Ridgley said.
County Council member Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg-Rockville), who heads the council's public safety panel, called on the union to "begin policing themselves. Otherwise the despicable comments will tarnish the reputation of an excellent department."
Black and Latino leaders said they will schedule meetings with Manger to discuss the message board because they say he is responsible for the conduct of the county's officers.
"I'm flabbergasted," said Del. Ana Sol Gutierrez (D-Montgomery). "If there is one agency where Montgomery County cannot tolerate one iota of racism and xenophobia, it is our police department. Chief Manger must take immediate action to remove any police officer who hides behind the anonymity of the Internet to attack the immigrants, the minorities and women they are hired to protect."
Henry Hailstock, president of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP, said he has met with at least 15 officers who approached him with concerns about some of the board's content. He said he holds Manger primarily responsible for what he described as a lackluster internal response to officers' concerns.
"He is the leader," Hailstock said. "There are some things management can do to let officers responsible for this know that it is not going to be tolerated and that if they're found doing this, they are going to be disciplined."
Kim Propeak, a spokeswoman for Casa of Maryland Inc., a group that has worked with the department to build trust between officers and the county's immigrants, said she is disheartened.
"I read that story, and I thought: We've just been set back 20 years," Propeak said. "I was outraged. I couldn't finish eating breakfast."
