Probe finds no racism in police
An investigation into allegations of racist behavior and language by the chief and sergeant of the New Hanover Police Department found no evidence to confirm any of the claims, Supervisors’ Chairman Charles D. Garner Jr. announced.
The investigation took 11 months and, as of May 27, has cost the township $31,156, according to Township Manager Jamie Gwynn.
Monday’s announcement came 12 days after the Pottstown chapter of the NAACP sent a letter to Garner asking for answers with the probe.
Members of the chapter came to the supervisors last year and
offered to help, saying they knew of people the investigator could interview.
In a statement released Tuesday, NAACP chapter President Johnny Corson said “our executive committee will meet soon to discuss this and write a response. Meanwhile, I’ll just say that we don’t consider this to be over.”
In a lengthy three-page statement read out loud at Monday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Garner outlined how the situation arose in July of last year and how the investigation was initiated after a complaint was filed by former police officer Keith Youse and his wife Sandy.
The investigator hired by the supervisors that same month, John Gonzales, was instructed to broaden his investigation after two news articles, outlining broader behavior, were published in September.
Tuesday, Sandy Youse pointed out that Gonzales is representing the township in another civil matter, and so cannot be seen to be “independent,” given that the township is his client in another matter.
In those articles, one of which was published in The Mercury on Sept. 30, Youse and another former officer, Dennis Psota, made allegations of racist comments and acts made by two former officers against Police Chief Kevin McKeon and Sgt. William Moyer.
Garner said Gonzales was given “extensive documents,” closed-circuit TV footage “of various locations with the township building, as well as unfettered access to township employees and any additional documents or records deemed to be relevant.”
Garner said Gonzales “conducted as fair and thorough an investigation as he could,” adding “unfortunately, one key witness refused to be interviewed, despite repeated attempts to schedule an interview.”
In all, Gonzales conducted 30 interviews of 25 township employees during the course of his investigation, adding up to more than 135 hours of investigative work that cost the township more than $30,000.
The first complaint has come to be known as “the egg roll incident.” When Youse went back to the township building for the last time to get a box with his personal belongings, an egg roll was found on top.
Youse’s wife Sandy is of Asian descent and both believed the egg roll’s presence to have been meant as a racial slight.
However, who placed it there “was not able to be determined,” Garner said, adding that “there were several different possible explanations as to where the egg roll came from.”
Garner said the witness who refused to be interviewed was the person who first discovered the egg roll among Youse’s belongings.
The second investigation involved general allegations of racist language and behavior in the police department.
Garner said Youse had alleged “supervisors within the police department had previously used racially derogatory language when referring to his family. He admitted that, even though he was a member of union leadership, he never reported any of this alleged behavior to anyone, including the Board of Supervisors or township administration, not did he submit an internal complaint of any kind under the township’s zero-tolerance antiharassment policies.”
“Moreover, no witness could corroborate Mr. Youse’s allegations in this regard, and some of his allegations were specifically contradicted by certain witnesses,” said Garner.
Sandy Youse said the statement is “very vague” and pointed to a section which read “there were some reports of township employees making sparadic inappropriate racial comments in years past, which are being addressed with the individual employees.”
“We never said there was ‘widespread use’ of inappropriate langue, so basically, the report confirmed what we said from the beginning,” she said.
“The whole thing just boggles my mind,” she said.
Garner’s statement said further, “there was no suggestion that any member of the New Hanover Police Department, including any supervisor, had ever acted in a racially discriminatory manner in the performance of their duties as sworn law enforcement officers, or in their dealings with any person, including any resident, township employee or member of the general public,” said Garner.
Asked for a reaction, Keith Youse said “I anticipated they would try to make me look like a liar.”
He said he had never alleged he was “treated in a racially discriminatory manner” only that inappropriate language was used “because I’m married to a minority. I wouldn’t let Sandy go there on the last day because its such a toxic environment.”
Despite the fact that allegations were not confirmed, Garner said the board “is determined to take all measures within its power to maintain an environment that is free from discrimination of any kind. The township has directed a review of its existing policies and procedures which prohibit discrimination and harassment to ensure that they are up to date.”
“In addition, the township will be implementing additional and regular sensitivity and diversity training so that all employees are reminded of what is expected of them in this regard, as well as the consequences for failing to meet those expectations,” Garner said. “The township will also provide targeted training for all supervisor employees to ensure that they are clean on the consequences for failing to ensure compliance with the township’s policies.”
He added that the board will also direct “a full review of police department policies and procedures, including the use of force.”
Keith Youse said he has been in touch with the civil rights division of the state attorney general’s office.
“This is why people don’t come forward and speak out. They’re afraid of being ridiculed or ostracized,” he said. “We’re not going away.”
This article first appeared as a post in The Digital Notebook blog.
Gonzales “conducted as fair and thorough an investigation as he could.”
— Charles D. Garner Jr., New Hanover Supervisors Chairman