BLACK LAW ENFORCEMENT CONDEMNS RACISM AND BIGOTRY AMONG PHILADELPHIA LAW ENFORCEMENT
National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers Speaks Out Regarding The Results of the Philadelphia Component of The Plain View Project
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dated: Thursday June 20, 2019
The National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers and it’s local chapter, the Guardian Civic League, have continually sought to create stronger, positive relationships between law enforcement and the community it serves, seeking to make the administration of justice more even-handed.
Thus, as we prepare to descend upon the City of Brotherly Love for our 17th Anniversary Training and Education Conference, Awards Ceremonies and Board of Directors Meetings in October of this year, we find the results of the Philadelphia component of the Plain View Project to be further notice and proof that the insidiously racist, homophobic, bigoted, violent and discriminatory attitudes of many members of the Philadelphia Police Department, particularly amongst officers of supervisory rank, appear rampant, further fracturing the hard-fought for positive relationships between law enforcement and the community, and continuing to pose a clear and present danger to the safety of law enforcement officers and members of the community alike. The attitudes, comments and behaviors expressed throughout the Plain View Project study can only be viewed as a continuation of a systemically virulent attitude of hatred and bias against members of the community by those who are sworn to protect them.
These attitudes and ideologies further serve to create not only a heightened level of racial and cultural bias and indifference, but a clear, present and increasingly dangerous and hostile working environment for the more than 6,000 law enforcement officers serving the people of Philadelphia, the fourth largest law enforcement agency in the nation.
Those members of the Philadelphia Police Department who both actively and covertly support the insidiously racist and discriminatory publication and dissemination of these disgusting, harassing and offensive comments, cartoons, and caricatures have no legitimate place or purpose in practice within our profession. They are a stain on our service, unworthy and undeserving of the privilege of carrying a badge. Allowing them to remain on duty, in any capacity, will only serve as a strong indicator that there is an acceptance of racial profiling, discriminatory treatment of community members, defiance of the rules of law, and unprofessional conduct in general as a standard to be adopted by all members of the Philadelphia Police Department.
The Philadelphia community-at-large is deserving of a much higher quality of service than those involved in these activities appear to be willing or qualified to provide.
The National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers, Inc, a 501.(c).(3) non-profit, is a premier national organization representing the interests and concerns of African American, Latino and other criminal justice practitioners of color serving in law enforcement, corrections, and investigative agencies throughout the United States, and the communities in which they serve.
