WASHINGTON 鈥� Dozens of Prince George鈥檚 County police officers have signed onto a Department of Justice complaint alleging 鈥渞ampant discrimination鈥� inside the police department.
The letter was written back in October 2016 and claims that there are 鈥渄isparities in discipline鈥� of Hispanic and black police officers compared to their white counterparts. Other discrimination claims within the letter include minority officers being passed up for promotions and transfers, as well as allegations of officers being retaliated against or vilified when trying to 鈥渆xpose wrongdoing.鈥�
The complaint, authored jointly by the Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association and the United Black Police Officers Association, was sent to the DOJ鈥檚 Civil Rights Division and calls for an impartial and independent 鈥渃ompliance review鈥� of the county鈥檚 police department.
鈥淭he current administration has chosen to ignore complaints and retaliate against those who raise concerns,鈥� a joint statement by both associations read.
The statement continued: 鈥淥ur goal is to have an outside entity look at our agency鈥檚 policies and practices and make recommendations in order to prevent the further disharmony within the department and within the community it serves.鈥�
This story was first reported by 海角社区app’s television news partner, .
The two organizations also claim there is a lack of minorities in key decision-making positions.
But according to Jennifer Donelan, director of the media relations division for Prince George鈥檚 County police, the department hasn鈥檛 seen the complaint yet.
鈥淲e’ve had very vague rumors 鈥� no hard evidence, nothing to really sink our teeth into,鈥� Donelan said.
Both associations also claim the department has been unwilling to engage in dialogue over reported issues.
Donelan said the department has been willing to listen and that back in October, when there were rumors of a letter, the department reached out to both associations.
鈥淥ur command made written attempts to try and find out what the concerns were so that we could address them, and we were told that they couldn鈥檛 talk to us,鈥� Donelan said. The department also reached out to the DOJ back in October, Donelan added, and never heard back.
The HNLEA said 74 officers have signed onto the letter. The organization also referred 海角社区app to Bob Ross, president of the NAACP in Prince George鈥檚 County, who spoke on the association鈥檚 behalf.
Ross said he hopes to work with the police department to prevent a DOJ investigation all together. 鈥淐ome up with something where they [the police department] can address the individual concerns and come up with a valid solution,鈥� Ross added.
Ross is a member of a panel announced by the police department and the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 89 on Thursday. The group is being convened, according to the department, to look into agency practices regarding promotions and discipline.
Donelan said the panel was not put together because of the letter.
The DOJ has only said it has received correspondence from the HNLEA and has transferred the correspondence to the Civil Rights Division; it must decide whether or not it will investigate the case.
