Clatskanie Police Chief Engaged in Racist Mockery
With encouragement from the ACLU of Oregon, two Clatskanie police officers filed a formal complaint against their chief of police Marvin Hoover.
The complaint described a routine debriefing in June 2015, in which the Hoover referred to African Americans as animals and began acting like a monkey. Later, in the same conversation, Hoover again interrupted the debriefing by singing “Dixie” while acting as if he were punching an imaginary person. In August, with an investigation underway as a result of the officers’ complaint, the Clatskanie city council agreed to allow the chief to retire immediately and to pay him the equivalent of four months salary. Read the original news article.
By Executive Director David Rogers
The racist comments and actions attributed to Clatskanie Police Chief Marvin Hoover are appalling in their mockery and display of intolerance for black people. It is shocking that a chief of police would show such contempt and disrespect for people the police are supposed to protect and serve.
Chief Hoover’s actions erode the public’s trust that police will treat all individuals fairly and respectfully. Trust in police around the country has already been badly damaged by highly visible acts of targeted violence toward people of color and Chief Hoover’s actions add to the widening chasm between the police and the communities they serve.
We commend Clatskanie Police officer Alex Stone and K-9 Officer Zack Gibson for stepping forward with their complaints of the chief’s actions. Their actions took courage and are exactly what we need from police who witness hateful behavior from colleagues.
As tensions between police and communities intensify, members of the public desperately want to believe that there are good cops who can be trusted. Too often we are left to wonder how bad cops can operate unnoticed. Surely, fellow officers see indications of problem behaviors but too often turn a blind eye so as to not break the “blue wall of silence.”
There are some serious problems we need to tackle in our criminal justice system, like dramatic prison growth and spending in the U.S. We are dumping billions of dollars into locking people up while ignoring the strategies best designed to create safe and healthy communities. Meanwhile, the racial disparity in sentencing and incarceration rates is one of the biggest drivers of inequality for communities of color in the country.
On Tuesday, November 4, 2014, Oregon voters approved Measure 91, ending decades of marijuana prohibition in Oregon and legalizing the cultivation, possession, and use of marijuana for adults 21 and over. This is a significant and important step on the road to repairing the damage done by the failed war on marijuana.
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