Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/crsj Part of the Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons, Human Rights Law Commons, and the Law Enforcement and Corrections Commons Recommended Citation Kami Chavis Simmons, Beginning to End Racial Profiling: Definitive Solutions to an Elusive Problem, 18 This interviewing strategy was designed to ferret out as much information from as many different sources as possible to minimize the chances that racial or other kinds of misconduct might be concealed from us. Verifying the allegations, therefore, required assessing the accuracy and reliability of testimony given by witnesses. Emailassign@whas11.com, visit ourFacebook pageorTwitter feed. 6. | Father of Louisville man killed in shooting pleads for end to gun violence, Timeline: Here are the changes and reforms we've seen in Louisville since Breonna Taylor's death. For example, one T-shirt for sale depicted three police officers around a police car and two black persons being held face down on the hood of the car. Do Jobs Prevent Or Deter Incarcerations? With 2014 coming to a close, we've gone through our archives for the past 12 months to bring you some of the biggest corrections stories of the year. This process is a cancer that eats away your staff until the only remaining experienced staff you have are beyond disgruntled. Extremely demeaning language and inappropriate sexual touching occurred. These allegations also threatened to taint the public reputation of the agencies that employed these agents. But, when two groups of good ol boys butt heads, everyone else now needs to play along with their stupid game no matter how petty. Although we heard conflicting views as to whether this conduct was intended to send a benign message of "Southern heritage" or a message of racism and intolerance, especially towards African Americans, we conclude that such displays had the effect, whether intended or not, of adding to a racially charged and hostile environment. Our investigation found that DOJ employees played a minor role in the official activities and organization of the Roundup. According to the lawsuit, LMPD eliminated Satterthwaite's position as Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer without explanation. We also conclude that by the time racist conduct began to appear at the Roundup and persons began to attribute racist tendencies to it, the Roundup organizers should have been aware that the name itself may have sent a less-than-welcoming message to all potential attendees. Logically speaking, the first troop should get a higher award than the second. He also teaches martial arts outside of the DOC. However, in an investigation that examined events occurring over a sixteen-year period and involving well in excess of 1,000 participants, we cannot be sure that we have uncovered every objectionable incident. The banner was thrown in the trash. What ethical dilemmas do favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism present? Nevertheless, because the investigation established some episodes of egregious racist conduct in certain years, we tried to determine which DOJ employees attended the Roundup in those years, and whether they participated in or encouraged such conduct. Personal written invitations were sent only to those who had previously registered for a Roundup. OIG believes further that employees bring disrepute to the Department and adversely affect their ability to perform their law enforcement mission if they knowingly attend an event whose purpose is to encourage or promote racist activity. These new people havent been through what we have. James retired as an LMPD officer in 2003. Officers from Cobb County, Georgia, brought a similar shirt. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, MIGHTY NETWORKS, 2023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, Colonel Paris Davis received the Medal of Honor nearly 60 years after he earned it in Vietnam, The Military Has A Toxic Leadership Problem, Odierno: Army Not a 'Good Ol' Boy Network' | Military.com, Competition VS Good Old Boy Club | RallyPoint. T.K. Principal OIG Findings petition: We Demand the corruption and good ole Boy system be This is primarily due to the lack of trust of the group and the limits those within the group put on their ability to be vulnerable for the sake of understanding. Although we conclude that much of the early Roundup news coverage was overblown and distorted, our investigation revealed ample evidence of shocking racist, licentious, and puerile behavior by attendees occurring in various years. He eventually evened out at FCC, a level 3/4 facility. In 1995, T-shirts with a crude drawing of the figure used in the children's game, "Hangman," and the initials "O" and "J" beneath the figure were sold by two officers from Fort Lauderdale. Rightmyer also announced generally that everyone in law enforcement was welcome at the Roundup, and those who disagreed should leave. There is a popular old tale by Hans Christian Andersen (n.d.) of the emperors new clothes, where an emperor pays a significant amount of money for some magic clothes, which can only be seen by those who are wise. When the investigation began, concern was raised that federal employees might have used government time and resources to promote racist activities, in violation of Office of Government Ethics standards. One particular display in 1992, captured in a photograph we obtained during the investigation, included a group surrounding the flag whose members are shown making obscene gestures and raising their fists. Because of the lack of controls placed on the distribution of fliers once they reached particular offices, the extent to which they were brought to the attention of the agents in these offices varied. In the lawsuit, he says he applied for multiple positions within the department, but believes he was scored unfairly and was denied access to his interview files so he could review the decision. In 1995, one current and three retired Fort Lauderdale police officers confronted a white ATF agent who had come to the Roundup with two black law enforcement officers. "We are proud of the support we have from Democrat and Republican sheriffs. For 1989, we received numerous allegations of racist conduct, most of which were made by Richard Hayward. This failure, together with the availability of massive amounts of alcohol, no doubt contributed to the recurrence of such incidents. Although not raised initially as allegations, OIG found substantial credible evidence of rampant alcohol abuse and extreme cases of juvenile and shocking behavior. We want to draw attention to good models of law enforcement that have improved the effectiveness of policing and interactions with minority communities. 2) examine the existing standards of conduct that apply to the off-duty behavior of DOJ law enforcement components, and provide further guidance for what constitutes conduct that brings the Department or one of its agencies into disrepute; READ MORE: UNDERSTANDING THE DARK SIDE OF LEADERSHIP PART III. Gritz also highlighted that the report said 43 percent of female criminal investigators experienced a form of gender discrimination of the past four years. And in many cases, DOJ employees acted as one would hope they would -- they saw an event marked by excessive alcohol consumption and puerile behavior and never returned. In 1991, officers from the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. brought to the Roundup shirts that depicted three police officers around a police car and two persons being held face down on the hood of the car. agent and to the applicable Department of Treasury component for one of its employees who used to be employed by DOJ. Despite evidence that the Roundup organizers officially discouraged such performances, their efforts to exercise control were half-hearted at best. We not only had to deal with weak recollections due to the passage of time but also faulty or incomplete memories because so many participants had consumed so much alcohol during the Roundup. The person who observed the sign reported that it was gone within half an hour. The good ol boys of the work site have ruled on how things seem to get down. Instead, most troops will eventually break down and take the easy route of prioritizing the buttering up of their superiors. The largest number of DOJ employees in attendance in any given year was eleven, a level reached twice, once out of approximately 400 attendees in 1986 and then again out of 520 attendees in 1994. Other than one inappropriate comment by one FBI agent, we found no evidence that any DOJ employee engaged in racist or other misconduct while at the Roundup. We are disturbed that an event characterized by rampant public drunkenness, widespread public lewdness, and in later years episodes of racist conduct drew participants from DOJ and other law enforcement organizations. Rites of passage, even in the job place, which leave coworkers to fend for themselves until they have proven themselves to be "worthy" of being included. While these practices are intended to strengthen us as a whole and weed out the untrustworthy, it actually does the opposite. 2. In the public sphere, favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism also undermine the common good. In addition to Hayward, two other witnesses had vague and indeterminate recollections of some type of racist sign being posted in the campground for a short time in 1989. Troops do conduct evaluations of their superiors that get sent higher on the chain of command. Solely on our findings, an appropriate sanction would be a reprimand, either written or oral. Furthermore, the failure of the Roundup organizers to take any action regarding conduct that was less blatant, but still offensive to many, created a racially hostile environment such that blacks who attended would not have felt welcome. h) Other Incidents "You know, you're the person that plays golf with the commander of the unit, so when you go apply you're going to get that spot.". However, too often these are disregarded because superiors are told things are fine by the sycophants. We believe we have developed a fair and accurate picture of what occurred. Insular environments are also the breeding ground of fear-based cultures. Despite reports that prostitutes were present during various Roundups, we found no evidence that anyone was solicited for prostitution or that sex was exchanged for money. When the organizers learned about it, they covered over the graffiti. New York, NY: Random House. Hayward had previously attended several Roundups as a registered attendee, until he was banned for his own racially offensive conduct. This fact contributed substantially to the degeneration of the Roundup over the years from an innocuous open-air camping and recreational gathering into a playground for large numbers of the drunk, tasteless, and immature. The signs were removed and destroyed. A so called "merit-based" promotion policy or system is nothing but another way to make it sound like management is promoting based on merit, when they're actually just putting up a smokescreen to disguise their need to circumvent civil service rules to put their boys into positions they're too . Over the sixteen years of the Roundup, only three percent of the total estimated number of attendees were DOJ employees. In 1992, he left a pile of these materials at the registration desk, which the people at the desk promptly discarded. ", 4. In response to a request of the Deputy Attorney General, the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted a wide-ranging investigation to determine whether any Department of Justice (DOJ) employees had attended the Roundup and, if so, whether they engaged in or approved of racial, criminal, or other kinds of misconduct at any of the sixteen Roundups from 1980 through 1995. This is particularly true in Southern states. It makes the job undesirable to those who could very likely possess the skills and training to become an asset. In their affidavits to the Senate, the two Ocoee women claimed to have heard that a woman was gang-raped by a large number of Roundup participants. We conclude that specific disciplinary action is not warranted for the vast majority of DOJ employees who attended the Roundup in one or more years. We determined that what began in 1980 as an unofficial gathering of 58 law enforcement officers and their friends evolved over the years into an event that by the early 1990s attracted close to 500 people, only ten percent of whom had any federal law enforcement affiliation. Moreover, OIG interviewed residents in the area near where the Roundup was held to learn what relevant evidence they might possess. Instead, they share the group's racial beliefs system. Businesses with higher Q12 scores experience higher productivity, profitability, customer satisfaction, and less liability (Buckingham, 2011). OIG made special efforts to interview persons from many federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, and to interview a large number of participants who had no law enforcement affiliation. With respect to a second individual, formerly employed by INS but now an employee of Treasury, we are transmitting information to the applicable Department of Treasury component by which he is now employed for consideration of possible discipline. And no DOJ employee was ever elected to be president or vice-president of the Roundup. The last person to be able to consume the required amount without a break was the winner. When he filed a complaint, the lawsuit alleges LMPD command "directed and authorized efforts to intimidate, harrass and surveil" him. C. Findings Regarding General Allegations of Racist You would have everyone on equal footing, we would be treated fairly. They are not operating in any undercover capacity to infiltrate this racist organization. Racial Inequities in Law Enforcement - Our Scientists' Work | RTI When these allegations were first made public, the public criticism was broad and harsh. Harvard professor Barbara Kellerman has identified seven types of bad leaders, and by ignoring bad leadership people undermine good leadership (Johnson, 2012). These signs read, "Nigger check point," "Any niggers in that car?," and "17 lb." Retrieved from,https://qz.com/196273/how-to-break-up-the-old-boys-club-in-your-office/, McMillin, J. COLUMN: Bryan Co. Good Ol' Boy System Means No More Services for DV, Sexual Assault Victims. When a small group is privy to whats really going on, the majority of the organization is in the dark and cannot be expected to have the ability to do its best work. 4) provide further training on the role of federal law enforcement officers in our society and the reasons why it is critical for law enforcement personnel to be held to extremely exacting standards of conduct to earn and maintain the full confidence of all citizens. Information Police organizations in particular are always on an uphill march and need every person to be on the winning team for the progress that needs to take place. The other women who were baring their breasts were consensual sex partners for single and married agents. II. Our investigative and interviewing strategy was designed to get beyond potentially self-serving accounts. The only identifying information we received was that an unspecified person from Ohio and another from Mississippi possessed one of these tapes. In 1992, he left a pile of these materials at the registration desk, which the people at the desk promptly discarded. Simply put: If someone does something wrong, their ass is grass. The other unimpressively slides through work but goes fishing with the commander on weekends. When groupthink is present, big ideas get pushed down, shunned, or worst never shared with the group in the first place. No DOJ employee ever served on the "REX" (Roundup Executive Committee), the group responsible for setting Roundup policies. Many police organizations have faced this lopsided leadership option (McMillin, 1999). It continues until the supervising officers are all friends, relatives, etc. John F. Kennedy, for example, appointed his brother Robert as attorney general. Based on our interviews of each of these witnesses, our conclusions regarding their credibility, and all the testimony of a number of credible witnesses, we concluded that none of these allegations were supported by substantial credible evidence. In addition, because our evaluation of DOJ employee conduct required the fullest and most accurate reconstruction possible of what had actually occurred at the Roundup, we sought to identify as many attendees of the various Roundups as we could. I look around from time to time and never cease to be amazed at how little social progress we have actually made. Without these examples, the texture of the event could not be adequately communicated. Apparently, the same concern and solicitude did not extend to the relatively few female law enforcement personnel who went to a Roundup. Will Leflore and Metro Council President David James worked with LMPD for 20 years. Please follow him on Twitter @BrianEllis10. (Subsequently, the FBI concluded that Hayward's video taken at the 1990 Roundup was authentic and had not been altered.) Although not raised initially as allegations, OIG found substantial credible evidence of rampant alcohol abuse and extreme cases of juvenile and shocking behavior. We are not aware of any effort that was made to establish who posted the signs. good ole boy system - Police Forums & Law Enforcement Forums E. OIG Recommendations Near these signs, and also visible in the video, was a drawing of a likeness of an African American with a circle around it and a red slash across the circle. Good Ol boys club. A third local resident made a vague and contradictory claim that marijuana was used in the campground during one unspecified Roundup. Many of the central figures involved in staging the Roundup over the years were also interviewed. Under applicable precedents, DOJ employees could be punished if they were found to have directly engaged in racist acts even while off duty. He was told by a Fort Lauderdale officer that "ATF fucks up everything they touch Now you are bringing niggers to the Roundup." A future Roundup president and Hayward can be readily identified. In our view, this employee demonstrated poor judgment that falls below applicable standards because he attended the Roundup after knowing of racist incidents at the event and his other actions evinced a toleration for, and encouragement of, such racist behavior. The phrase used by the persons engaged in the activity was "checking cars for niggers." Thus, DOJ participation in the Roundup was relatively insignificant both numerically and organizationally. In part this lack of understanding is the result of very general provisions that govern off-duty conduct. At least 10 percent of the attendees had federal law enforcement affiliations. Information sharing is chaotic and in-group knows more about organizational agendas than everyone else. We further believe that such regulation is wholly appropriate. And everyone can point to instances where cronyism or nepotism is an accepted fact of life in political sphere, as well. Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Mayors put those they know and trust on citizens committees and commissions. researches product purchases and suppliers. e) Hayward's White Supremacist Literature. An investigation by the DOJ's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) ensued. "Obviously LMPD fights any type of discrimination but I don't know about the case and if I did I couldn't comment about it," Fischer said. He left the Roundup a few hours later. identifies important training information, interacts with each other and These materials were prepared for the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics program in Government Ethics by former Senior Fellow Judy Nadler and former Communications Director Miriam Schulman. We found no evidence that anyone complained about such displays or that any action was taken to remove them. Near these signs, and also visible in the video, was a drawing of a likeness of an African American with a circle around it and a red slash across the circle. The banner was thrown in the trash. Even though our assessment is that an inadequate evidentiary basis exists to recommend discipline for any of the other DOJ employees whose conduct we considered, we are extremely troubled by many of the excesses committed by non-DOJ attendees at the Roundup that developed during the mid-1980s and grew far worse during the years 1990-95. The last person to be able to consume the required amount without a break was the winner. In conducting this investigation, the OIG's principal purposes were (1) to determine whether DOJ employees had committed acts that might warrant sanction by their components and (2) to determine whether existing standards of conduct provide adequate guidance as they relate to off-duty conduct or whether any changes in administrative policy or practice should be made. This group of participants affiliated with DOJ constitutes approximately three percent of the estimated total number of attendees at the sixteen Roundups. Many DOJ employees believe that what they do off duty is their business and not a proper concern of their employer. Relationships matter, but they are not the only things that matter. Although we found credible evidence that Rightmyer gave speeches exhorting participants to stop such behavior, his efforts were sporadic at best and essentially went unheeded. A second sign, this one reading, "nigger checkpoint," was reported to have been posted across from the registration area early on the morning the Roundup began. A number of police organizations, both big and small have dealt with the good ole boy system (Lee, 2014). We determined, however, that because the Roundup campground was not isolated or well-secured, it was ill-suited for secretive racist gatherings. On the other hand, simply attending a private, unofficial event at which a few participants engage in racist conduct and at which such behavior is not the purpose of the event should not, in most circumstances, merit punishment for the employee who attends. Contact Mike for services Life Coaching, Training, Team Building, Corporate Training, Project Management, and Public Speaking In practice, these should give an accurate and fair assessment of a unit. These allegations also threatened to taint the public reputation of the agencies that employed these agents. a) Racist signs B. Poor decisions are made, costing the organization credibility and destroying public confidence. After multiple failed attempts, Satterthwaite was elected as the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer under then-Deputy Chief Lavita Chavous. 'Good ole boy system': LMPD officer files lawsuit accusing department of bias, discrimination. Because of the historical connections between similar sites and racist activities, these agents attributed racist intentions to the Roundup due simply to its location. There are many fair and impartial leaders within the military. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) regulations prohibit federal employees from engaging in "criminal, infamous, dishonest, immoral, or notoriously disgraceful conduct prejudicial to the government." Although Hayward alleged that the tape also contained a racist "comedy" routine and was for sale at the campground, we found no corroboration for these additional claims. First, the allegations of racist conduct contained in the initial media accounts and Congressional testimony were truly shocking. He says wonderful comforting things to the public, words that make the street deputies get goose bumps and feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Because of the historical connections between similar sites and racist activities, these agents attributed racist intentions to the Roundup due simply to its location. OIG investigated every allegation of specific racist misconduct made by Hayward, Randall, several current and former black ATF agents, and witnesses who were interviewed during the course of this investigation. It also makes us highly skeptical of anyone new coming in. We thus concluded that in choosing the Roundup's location, its organizers did not have a racist intent, although the perceptions among minorities that they would not be welcome was an unintended consequence of the selected site. This failure, together with the availability of massive amounts of alcohol, no doubt contributed to the recurrence of such incidents. The day before the Roundup opened a small sign that read, "no niggers," was observed posted on a stake alongside the road into the campground. These invitations were distributed to law enforcement agencies in the Southeast, where they were posted on bulletin boards, announced generally, or handed out to those who were interested. The 9News Investigators found records of two paychecks made out to Jimmy Jones after his resignation date of April 28, 2015. Instead, it is working for those in power, which crushes ongoing momentum efforts. Based on the number of convictions for violating federal corruption laws, Mississippi a state with just three million citizens ranks at the very top of the . Archived | Perspectives on Civil Protective Orders in Domestic Violence In 1995, one current and three retired Fort Lauderdale police officers confronted a white ATF agent who had come to the Roundup with two black law enforcement officers. ", Racists with Badges: The Good Ol' Boys Roundup. OIG also reviewed the testimony of hundreds of witnesses provided during interviews conducted by other agencies. (2014). These people are so bitter that they spend most trying to screw over each other in order to make themselves feel better. Immediately after the skit, Rightmyer publicly criticized its participants but took no other action, such as ejecting them from the Roundup. Worst yet are those organizations that seek improvement in this area and bring in another person to fix, who ultimately repeats the same thing in the attempt of changing the organization. In the change process, the new leader creates more of the same, as the only thing that changes are the players, not the game (Katzenbach, Steffen, & Kronley, 2012).