Police Union Furious About Police Chief’s Anti-Racism Sign
Pittsburgh’s new police chief was pictured New Year’s Eve with a sign that read, “I resolve to challenge racism @ work.”
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This is, somehow, bad according to the city’s police union.
[su_thin_right_skyscraper_ad]The sign also has a Twitter hash tag that says “# end white silence.” Chief Cameron McLay was photographed holding up the sign that someone had brought to the city’s annual First Night celebration.
Mayor Bill Peduto said he saw the picture on social media and liked it so much he re-posted it on his own Facebook page…
But Fraternal Order of Police president Howard McQuillan said the sign paints city police as racists and violates a policy governing police participation in social media. McQuillan took issue with the mayor’s previous comments criticizing the police and saying departmental reforms were needed, and fired off an email to the mayor, which the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Sunday…
“The predominant pattern of our city’s increased violence involves black victims as well as actors,” wrote the police chief, who is white. “If we are to address this violence, we must work together with our communities of color.”…
McQuillan told the chief in his email that the poor morale among officers needs to be addressed and is made worse by “pandering to the community at the expense of the police community.”
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neworleans878 January 4th, 2015 at 9:07 pm
Pretending something doesn’t exist will never make it go away.
whatthe46 January 4th, 2015 at 9:34 pm
exactly. now wait for it… rodummy or waystupid is going to come in and say something really assinine and run.
granpa.usthai January 4th, 2015 at 9:52 pm
well it damn sure as hell worked in Nevada!
whatthe46 January 4th, 2015 at 9:59 pm
HA!
Anomaly 100 January 4th, 2015 at 10:41 pm
No, no, no no no. My Twitter trolls assure me that bringing up racism is “playing the race card” and that i shouldn’t mention it because that’s bad.
StoneyCurtisll January 4th, 2015 at 11:50 pm
Exactly..
And those people that get all worked up over the mention of addressing racism, are the very ones who exhibit racist tendencies and behaviors.
greenfloyd January 5th, 2015 at 1:57 am
Pretending white people caused racism does not make it so… and appeals to no one except the self-loathing, racked by guilt mind-set. It’s as stupid as the union’s denial of the real problem, institutional racism and individual racist, violent cops, no matter their skin color.
whatthe46 January 4th, 2015 at 9:34 pm
“pandering to the community” wow, so working with the community is a terrible thing. that’s why these “officers” believe they can go rogue.
uzza January 4th, 2015 at 9:41 pm
” to the community at the expense of the police community.”
There’s the problem right there. The police are supposed to be PART of the community, and he sees them as being separate groups. Like the NATO forces aren’t part of the local Afghan community.
whatthe46 January 4th, 2015 at 9:59 pm
you’re so on point.
tracey marie January 4th, 2015 at 9:40 pm
The community needs to trust the police who are NOT a community but working for the real community made up of all races, ethnicities, and colors.
Leo Eris January 5th, 2015 at 12:14 am
This is what happened to the good cops that everyone keeps talking about.
bpollen January 5th, 2015 at 12:59 am
I’m not in favor of that so-called “thin blue line”, but this shows that there are definite repercussions for those who so much as look over it.
greenfloyd January 5th, 2015 at 1:39 am
I’m glad the Chief is going to “challenge” racism at work, although that begs the question what does he do in his off-time? 🙂
But seriously, both sides appear to be overreacting. “#end white silence,” what’s that all about? The notion that “Racism is caused by white people” is absurd, and racist itself. The city, the police should never associate with any group promoting a hurtful fallacy that seeks to blame and/or marginalize any group for a universal human failing that is found among all races.
whatthe46 January 5th, 2015 at 2:12 am
i agree. if anything, it should be a plea to end the blue wall of silence. period. not seeing that happening, but, stranger things have happened.
greenfloyd January 5th, 2015 at 2:34 am
I know it’s painfully slow. New ideas float around for awhile, most go no where. But when something catches fire, captures the people’s imaginatiion get out of the way. Look at cannabis legalization, for example.
burqa January 5th, 2015 at 4:27 am
They need to get pot legalized in Pittsburgh and get some to that union chief.
He needs to light up and lighten up….
illinoisboy1977 January 5th, 2015 at 11:37 am
I don’t see the photo as painting his officers as racists, but if they’re thinned-skinned enough to think he is, I’d be willing to clarify my position, if I were the chief. I think this is a misunderstanding that could be put to bed, pretty quickly.