Post by aggierattler on Jun 25, 2020 17:04:09 GMT -5
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Three North Carolina police officers fired for racist comments calling for 'slaughtering' Black people
Hunter Ingram
Wilmington Star News
June 25, 2020
WILMINGTON, N.C. – Three Wilmington Police Department officers have been fired after being caught on a police vehicle camera making racist comments about local Black citizens, fellow officers and the department’s newly appointed police chief.
The now-former officers – Michael Kevin Piner, Jesse E. Moore II and James B. Gilmore – were identified Wednesday afternoon at a news conference at Wilmington police headquarters. Moore and Gilmore have worked for the department since 1997, and Piner was hired in 1998.
Police Chief Donny Williams, who was promoted to the department’s top position just a day earlier, said Wednesday that the video of the men’s conversations included “disrespectful language, hate-filled speech and referring to Black people as the n-word.”
“This is the most exceptional and difficult case I have encountered in my career,” said the 29-year Wilmington police veteran. “We must establish new reforms for policing here at home and throughout this country.”
As part of the announcement, the department and the city council publicly released a slew of documents related to the terminations, including the former officers’ termination letters, a summary of the internal investigation and their complete work histories in the department.
“Why are we releasing this information in this way?” Williams said. “It is because of the times we are in, and it is the right thing to do. Normally personnel laws allow only for a small number of information to be made public. However, in exceptional cases, when it is essential to maintain public confidence in the administration of the city and our police department, more information can be released.”
According to the internal investigation incident report, the video containing the officers’ comments was found June 4 during a monthly inspection of Piner’s vehicle and was classified in the system as an “accidental activation.”
Much of the video, which begins just before 7 a.m. on an unspecified date, is of Piner’s backseat. But then, about 46 minutes into the video, he is heard talking to Gilmore, who pulled up next to him, about the Black Lives Matter protests across the country and in Wilmington, according to the report.
Gilmore specifically talks about a social media video he had seen where white people kneeled in solidarity with Black people, and he criticizes those depicted as “worshiping Blacks.”
While speaking to Gilmore, Piner talks about fellow officer Michael Scott, an African American whom he calls “bad news.” At one point, he talks about violence against Scott, saying, “Let’s see how his boys take care of him when (expletive) gets rough, see if they don’t put a bullet in his head,” according to the report.
Later on, after Gilmore pulls away, Piner receives a phone call from Moore, who was off duty.
Throughout their conversation, which is also summarized in the report, the men use the n-word repeatedly, in reference to suspects and people outside the department.
In regards to a woman he arrested the day before the video, which he described in racially derogatory terms, Moore said: “She needed a bullet in her head right then and move on. Let’s move the body out of the way and keep going.” Piner responded, “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”
After saying martial law could soon be declared in society, Piner said: “We are just gonna go out and start slaughtering them (expletive) (slur). I can’t wait. God I can’t wait.”
Moore said he wouldn’t do that.
At one point referring to Black people, Piner told Moore there should be another civil war to “wipe ’em off the (expletive) map,” according to the report.
Elsewhere in their conversation, Moore and Piner also criticized the department for its handling of the recent protests, with Moore specifically charging Williams, then interim police chief, had “dropped the ball” and that “there have been too many times that all he cares about is the (slur) community.”
On June 9, Sgt. Mike Donelson, who led the investigation, interviewed the three men separately, and none of them denied the comments on the video, according to the report. They all cited the “stress of today’s climate in law enforcement as a reason for their ‘venting,’” the report read.
They all also denied being racist.
Piner, specifically, said after working the protests in downtown Wilmington that he feared for his family’s safety and it had led to elevated stress at home, he told Donelson during the interviews.
After the terminations, District Attorney Ben David said in a statement that all the cases where the three men were witnesses will now be reviewed for evidence of any racial bias that may have contributed to convictions.
Williams said the department will consult with a judge on the potential release of the video of the officers’ comments.
Williams said he was “shocked, saddened and disgusted” when made aware of the comments and plans to notify the state Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission and the National Decertification Index about their behavior. He also recommended they not be eligible to ever be rehired by the city of Wilmington.
“There are certain behaviors that one must have to be a police officer, and these three individuals have demonstrated they do not possess it,” he said, later adding, “Please, please don’t judge our officers on the conduct of a few.”
In reaction to the officers’ comments, Williams said he will be meeting with every department officer individually for 15 to 20 minutes throughout July, and all 350 department employees will be required to take implicit-bias training.
He also vowed to launch a cultural education series through small group dialogues and explore the establishment of a citizen review board.
Before the news conference, the Wilmington City Council convened a special meeting in which they voted unanimously to terminate the officers and release their identities and all corresponding materials in the internal investigation.
A last-minute request filed by the officers’ attorney sought to stop the release of that information, but a judge ultimately sided with the department and the city.
Follow Hunter Ingram on Twitter: @hunteringramsn.
From USA Today: www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/25/north-carolina-cops-fired-calling-slaughtering-black-people/3256627001/
Three North Carolina police officers fired for racist comments calling for 'slaughtering' Black people
Hunter Ingram
Wilmington Star News
June 25, 2020
WILMINGTON, N.C. – Three Wilmington Police Department officers have been fired after being caught on a police vehicle camera making racist comments about local Black citizens, fellow officers and the department’s newly appointed police chief.
The now-former officers – Michael Kevin Piner, Jesse E. Moore II and James B. Gilmore – were identified Wednesday afternoon at a news conference at Wilmington police headquarters. Moore and Gilmore have worked for the department since 1997, and Piner was hired in 1998.
Police Chief Donny Williams, who was promoted to the department’s top position just a day earlier, said Wednesday that the video of the men’s conversations included “disrespectful language, hate-filled speech and referring to Black people as the n-word.”
“This is the most exceptional and difficult case I have encountered in my career,” said the 29-year Wilmington police veteran. “We must establish new reforms for policing here at home and throughout this country.”
As part of the announcement, the department and the city council publicly released a slew of documents related to the terminations, including the former officers’ termination letters, a summary of the internal investigation and their complete work histories in the department.
“Why are we releasing this information in this way?” Williams said. “It is because of the times we are in, and it is the right thing to do. Normally personnel laws allow only for a small number of information to be made public. However, in exceptional cases, when it is essential to maintain public confidence in the administration of the city and our police department, more information can be released.”
According to the internal investigation incident report, the video containing the officers’ comments was found June 4 during a monthly inspection of Piner’s vehicle and was classified in the system as an “accidental activation.”
Much of the video, which begins just before 7 a.m. on an unspecified date, is of Piner’s backseat. But then, about 46 minutes into the video, he is heard talking to Gilmore, who pulled up next to him, about the Black Lives Matter protests across the country and in Wilmington, according to the report.
Gilmore specifically talks about a social media video he had seen where white people kneeled in solidarity with Black people, and he criticizes those depicted as “worshiping Blacks.”
While speaking to Gilmore, Piner talks about fellow officer Michael Scott, an African American whom he calls “bad news.” At one point, he talks about violence against Scott, saying, “Let’s see how his boys take care of him when (expletive) gets rough, see if they don’t put a bullet in his head,” according to the report.
Later on, after Gilmore pulls away, Piner receives a phone call from Moore, who was off duty.
Throughout their conversation, which is also summarized in the report, the men use the n-word repeatedly, in reference to suspects and people outside the department.
In regards to a woman he arrested the day before the video, which he described in racially derogatory terms, Moore said: “She needed a bullet in her head right then and move on. Let’s move the body out of the way and keep going.” Piner responded, “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”
After saying martial law could soon be declared in society, Piner said: “We are just gonna go out and start slaughtering them (expletive) (slur). I can’t wait. God I can’t wait.”
Moore said he wouldn’t do that.
At one point referring to Black people, Piner told Moore there should be another civil war to “wipe ’em off the (expletive) map,” according to the report.
Elsewhere in their conversation, Moore and Piner also criticized the department for its handling of the recent protests, with Moore specifically charging Williams, then interim police chief, had “dropped the ball” and that “there have been too many times that all he cares about is the (slur) community.”
On June 9, Sgt. Mike Donelson, who led the investigation, interviewed the three men separately, and none of them denied the comments on the video, according to the report. They all cited the “stress of today’s climate in law enforcement as a reason for their ‘venting,’” the report read.
They all also denied being racist.
Piner, specifically, said after working the protests in downtown Wilmington that he feared for his family’s safety and it had led to elevated stress at home, he told Donelson during the interviews.
After the terminations, District Attorney Ben David said in a statement that all the cases where the three men were witnesses will now be reviewed for evidence of any racial bias that may have contributed to convictions.
Williams said the department will consult with a judge on the potential release of the video of the officers’ comments.
Williams said he was “shocked, saddened and disgusted” when made aware of the comments and plans to notify the state Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission and the National Decertification Index about their behavior. He also recommended they not be eligible to ever be rehired by the city of Wilmington.
“There are certain behaviors that one must have to be a police officer, and these three individuals have demonstrated they do not possess it,” he said, later adding, “Please, please don’t judge our officers on the conduct of a few.”
In reaction to the officers’ comments, Williams said he will be meeting with every department officer individually for 15 to 20 minutes throughout July, and all 350 department employees will be required to take implicit-bias training.
He also vowed to launch a cultural education series through small group dialogues and explore the establishment of a citizen review board.
Before the news conference, the Wilmington City Council convened a special meeting in which they voted unanimously to terminate the officers and release their identities and all corresponding materials in the internal investigation.
A last-minute request filed by the officers’ attorney sought to stop the release of that information, but a judge ultimately sided with the department and the city.
Follow Hunter Ingram on Twitter: @hunteringramsn.
From USA Today: www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/25/north-carolina-cops-fired-calling-slaughtering-black-people/3256627001/
