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In a number of years, but certainly in 1990 and 1992, Confederate flags were displayed at various locations in and around the Roundup campground. One particular display in 1992, captured in a photograph we obtained during the investigation, included a group surrounding the flag whose members are shown making obscene gestures and raising their fists. To complicate issues even more, when groupthink is rampant, police organizations begin relying on successful implementations from the past that may no longer be relevant or produce the greatest yield for the department; but because it worked before, it stands to reason that it should be an acceptable means for today. Fired up or burned out: How to reignite your teams passion, creativity, and productivity. In Hayward's case, for example, the important kernels of truth contained in his 1990 videotape and in his allegation regarding a particularly egregious racist skit in 1990 were combined with other allegations that were embellishments of actual events and in many cases distortions and outright fabrications. A problem arises, however, when a leader decides to sweep an issue under the rug. Although numerous liaisons between Roundup participants and local women were reported, we found no evidence that these liaisons were anything but consensual and non-remunerative. So, unconsciously we end up testing them, and closely evaluating their every move. Have a news tip? ", Racists with Badges: The Good Ol' Boys Roundup. OIG also reviewed the testimony of hundreds of witnesses provided during interviews conducted by other agencies. Further, many conscientious lawmakers have discovered that they must change their patterns of socializing when their work involves many decisions affecting friends and associates. 4) provide further training on the role of federal law enforcement officers in our society and the reasons why it is critical for law enforcement personnel to be held to extremely exacting standards of conduct to earn and maintain the full confidence of all citizens. We are disturbed that an event characterized by rampant public drunkenness, widespread public lewdness, and in later years episodes of racist conduct drew participants from DOJ and other law enforcement organizations. Personal written invitations were sent only to those who had previously registered for a Roundup. identifies important training information, interacts with each other and These men and women have been the . Although not raised initially as allegations, OIG found substantial credible evidence of rampant alcohol abuse and extreme cases of juvenile and shocking behavior. When asked for a comment, LMPD spokesperson Beth Ruoff said the department "does not comment on pending litigation.". 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. The person who observed the sign reported that it was gone within half an hour. Hayward was told he could not enter the campground unless all of these materials were removed. Although high ranking officers and senior enlisted have always tried to pluck toxicity out of the system because it goes against every military value, it still rears its head, typically in the form of the good ol boy system. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) regulations prohibit federal employees from engaging in "criminal, infamous, dishonest, immoral, or notoriously disgraceful conduct prejudicial to the government." A lot of the Texas law enforcement is still the good ol' boys, and the good ol' boys never, never want to be managed by anyone other than good ol' boys. First, the allegations of racist conduct contained in the initial media accounts and Congressional testimony were truly shocking. Findings Regarding Specific Racist Misconduct. This tale describes the danger of situations where people are afraid to criticize an initiative because of the people involved, or how popular the idea is, as well as the inability to ask questions because of the fear of feeling inferior. Even where we developed substantial evidence that acts of misconduct took place, we have not in every case been able to identify who was responsible, despite determined efforts to do so. Without these examples, the texture of the event could not be adequately communicated. The day before the Roundup opened a small sign that read, "no niggers," was observed posted on a stake alongside the road into the campground. He also alleged that ATF agents surrounded cars entering the campground and shouted, "Got any niggers in that car?" Women and the Good Ole Boys Club | Psychology Today The OIG report contains a summary of our findings with respect to these and all other DOJ employees who attended. One was from May 13th in the amount of $1,280.79 and another on May . Instead, they share the group's racial beliefs system. In the public sphere, favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism also undermine the common good. Superiors that follow the good ol boy system rarely make an effort to hide their favoritism. Police need to stop using excessive force, violating people’s civil rights, refusing to investigate complaints. An important part of the climate was established by the availability of unlimited amounts of alcohol. When the conduct was brought to the attention of Roundup organizers it was criticized and terminated. Although the Roundup was plainly not the type of event that brings credit to its participants, we developed no evidence that any significant role was played in the Roundup by any DOJ personnel past or present. Cronyism occurs within a network of insiders-the "good ol' boys," who confer favors on one another. And no DOJ employee was ever elected to be president or vice-president of the Roundup. Probably the biggest dilemma presented by favoritism is that, under various other names, few people see it as a problem. But by failing to eject or punish any of the people known to have engaged in the misconduct, the Roundup organizers failed to deliver a strong, unequivocal message that racist conduct would not be tolerated. The Investigators: Good Ol' Boys - WAFB Hayward videotaped the 1990 Roundup. There are even those that will incite a situation in order to see how the new person responds. Copyright 2023 I'm always going to. When the organizers learned about it, they covered over the graffiti. For the 1990 incidents we found no evidence that any Roundup leaders were notified or were aware of such conduct or that any action was taken to stop these persons. We believe that such off-duty responsibilities are not well-understood by many DOJ employees. Beginning to End Racial Profiling: Definitive Solutions to an Elusive Tweet. He left the Roundup a few hours later. Seek out advice, if your world becomes too insular, it limits your creativity. ~ Georgina Chapman, Brian Ellis, Anthony H. Normore, & Mitch Javidi National Command and Staff College. We also found no evidence that any DOJ employees attended the Roundup without taking appropriate leave. When a small group is privy to whats really going on, the majority of the organization is in the dark and cannot be expected to have the ability to do its best work. We chase off and scare off new officers before they can grasp even the basics of our profession. They will try ordering you around, like they're in a position to do so. What do favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism have to do with ethics? "You know, you're the person that plays golf with the commander of the unit, so when you go apply you're going to get that spot.". Although we conclude that much of the early Roundup news coverage was overblown and distorted, our investigation revealed ample evidence of shocking racist, licentious, and puerile behavior by attendees occurring in various years. This is an opportunity for troops to vent legitimate problems. Indeed, we recognized that the persons who attended the Roundup may have had a motive to conceal or minimize the instances of racial or other kinds of misconduct in order to make their attendance at a Roundup appear more benign than it might have been. In 1992, T-shirts with a pocket drawn on the upper left of the shirt, a drawing of the head of the character Buckwheat from the old television show "Little Rascals," and the words "Good Ole Boys '92" written on the pocket were offered for sale by some unidentified person or persons. Tweet. These invitations were distributed to law enforcement agencies in the Southeast, where they were posted on bulletin boards, announced generally, or handed out to those who were interested. One of the Senate affiants alleged that during the 1990 Roundup a "drug enforcement officer" offered her some unspecified drugs in Grumpy's, a bar adjacent to the campground that was frequented by many Roundup attendees. . In the words of basketball coaching legend John Wooden, when everybody thinks alike, nobody thinks. There are countless leaders in history such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln Winston Churchill, and Franklin D. Roosevelt who used the value of challenging their own modes of thinking; whether through a team who had diverse views, or reaching out to others for advice, or seeing how the value of people who think differently than you builds success. Other attendees intervened and broke up the confrontation. Also, because favoritism is often covert (few elected officials are foolish enough to show open partiality to friends, and family), this practice undercuts the transparency that should be part of governmental hiring and contracting processes. Indeed, we recognized that the persons who attended the Roundup may have had a motive to conceal or minimize the instances of racial or other kinds of misconduct in order to make their attendance at a Roundup appear more benign than it might have been. If true and if committed by DOJ law enforcement officers, we would be confronted with very serious questions about the officers' fitness to serve, their ability to discharge their law enforcement duties, and their right to wear a federal badge. Decertification means Handley is forbidden from working in law enforcement anywhere in the state . And in many cases, DOJ employees acted as one would hope they would -- they saw an event marked by excessive alcohol consumption and puerile behavior and never returned. They are the power in-group where promotability is based upon who you know rather than what you know. Charles Morgan started his career as a corrections officer at MECC, a level 3 facility, and then transferred to ERDCC, a level 5 facility. In addition, a former ATF agent in an interview subsequent to his Senate hearing testimony alleged for the first time that in 1987 he heard from another ATF agent that a woman had been raped by an ATF agent at the Roundup. They are not operating in any undercover capacity to infiltrate this racist organization. In 1995, T-shirts with a crude drawing of the figure used in the children's game, "Hangman," and the initials "O" and "J" beneath the figure were sold by two officers from Fort Lauderdale. Over the sixteen years of the Roundup, only three percent of the total estimated number of attendees were DOJ employees. Do Not Sell My Personal Information, If you need further help setting your homepage, check your browsers Help menu, First Circuit: Surgery performed on inmate to locate alleged contraband a violation of the Fourth Amendment, Ala. police: Man gets ride home from jail, then kills 3 relatives and friend, Charges dropped against detainee after video showed beating by deputies inside Ga. jail, Inmate accused of slashing N.Y. corrections officer indicted, Open the tools menu in your browser. Despite evidence that the Roundup organizers officially discouraged such performances, their efforts to exercise control were half-hearted at best. The Gallup Organization has extensively studied work engagement, with one of the best measures of work engagement being connected to the Gallup Q12 survey, which asks whether people in your organization care for you, develop you, and respect your opinion. These signs read, "Nigger check point," "Any niggers in that car?," and "17 lb." Taunting the ATF agent about the presence of the two blacks, one of the Fort Lauderdale officers stated, "ATF fucks up everything they touch. On two occasions the Redneck of the Year contest contained blatantly racist material. We have reported these not for their shock value but instead to give an accurate picture of what the Roundup was like. Although in earlier years we found efforts by Rightmyer to ensure that women were treated appropriately and these women reported no problems, we found little evidence of concern in the later years when the objectionable conduct became pervasive. We believe we have developed a fair and accurate picture of what occurred. The banner was thrown in the trash. In 1992 the same persons who ordered the sign taken down pulled the responsible person away from the car and told him to stop what he was doing. Although Hayward alleged that the tape also contained a racist "comedy" routine and was for sale at the campground, we found no corroboration for these additional claims. Third, executives should be thinking about strategic succession planning rather than waiting for retirements to occur and making picks in the moment. OIG identified forty-four past or present DOJ employees who attended at least one Roundup. There are many fair and impartial leaders within the military. In conducting this investigation, the OIG's principal purposes were (1) to determine whether DOJ employees had committed acts that might warrant sanction by their components and (2) to determine whether existing standards of conduct provide adequate guidance as they relate to off-duty conduct or whether any changes in administrative policy or When there are divisions within a single unit because someone doesnt like that guy for something personal, the unit has a serious problem. In one photo, a group surrounding the flag are shown making obscene gestures and raising their fists in a Nazi salute. 2. Former FBI agent Robyn Gritz said on Wednesday that there was a "good old boys" club within the premier U.S. law enforcement agencies after the Department of Justice released a report. Other isolated but nevertheless significant evidence of racially offensive or insensitive conduct occurred in a number of years. Logan of the University of Kentucky, the lead researcher, noted that the rural women were from the Appalachian area, which has received media attention because of drug use. Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. And although we were able to identify more who had been invited to attend, most chose not to -- some merely because the name and location suggested to them that they would not be welcome there. After multiple failed attempts, Satterthwaite was elected as the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer under then-Deputy Chief Lavita Chavous. The phrase used by the persons engaged in the activity was "checking cars for niggers." In 1992, two different signs were displayed at the campground. Many of the central figures involved in staging the Roundup over the years were also interviewed. Others may restrict the hiring of relatives or friends in more general conflict-of-interest rules. Favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism all interfere with fairness because they give undue advantage to someone who does not necessarily merit this treatment. All rights reserved. In some instances these persons cooperated; in others they refused to answer any questions. GEORGIA- Stacey Abrams, the Invisalign and NutriSystem poster child who still thinks she's the governor of Georgia has a pretty funny way of reaching out to law enforcement officers. Moreover, we found Randall's claim to have found the "license" in a Roundup bathroom not to be credible. The Good Ole Boy System in the Military - Part-Time-Commander.com When he filed a complaint, the lawsuit alleges LMPD command "directed and authorized efforts to intimidate, harrass and surveil" him. None of the allegations of criminal conduct were substantiated, although activity inappropriate for a gathering with a substantial number of law enforcement officers took place. In a number of years, but certainly in 1990 and 1992, Confederate flags were displayed at various locations in and around the Roundup campground. In addition, because our evaluation of DOJ employee conduct required the fullest and most accurate reconstruction possible of what had actually occurred at the Roundup, we sought to identify as many attendees of the various Roundups as we could. OIG investigated every allegation of specific racist misconduct made by Hayward, Randall, several current and former black ATF agents, and witnesses who were interviewed during the course of this investigation. Regardless of their source, if true, these allegations threatened to seriously undermine the ability of these agents to perform their critical missions, particularly enforcing federal criminal law, upholding civil rights laws, and providing equal protection under the law. Understanding the basic needs of people, appreciating the contributions of others, and helping them achieve their potential are building blocks of successful organizations (Stallard, 2007). We have the same advice for "good old boys" that we have for all employers - but we emphasize it more. "It's always been a buddy buddy system to my knowledge and there's going to be a few that say it's not and that's because they are a part of the buddy buddy system," Leflore said. I. Buckingham, M. (2011). 4 opportunities to get the organization out of the club: Applicability to policing. 2023 Copyright Law Enforcement Today - All Rights Reserved. Randall also alleged that a T-shirt with a picture of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with a target superimposed over his face, was offered for sale. Gritz said that the DOJ and the FBI has more work to do in promoting gender equality and diversity within their ranks. Nonetheless, OIG expended considerable time, energy, and resources to determine as best we could what happened at the Roundup. Accordingly, we recommend that the Department of Justice do the following: 1) explicitly advise its employees that off-duty conduct is subject to regulation and review and that sanctions can be imposed for off-duty misconduct; 2) examine the existing standards of conduct that apply to the off-duty behavior of DOJ law enforcement components, and provide further guidance for what constitutes conduct that brings the Department or one of its agencies into disrepute; 3) educate and train its law enforcement officers concerning how participation in events that are characterized by racist misconduct in particular can interfere with their ability to effectively do their jobs, such as opening up lines of inquiry relating to racial prejudice when law enforcement officers serve as witnesses in criminal cases; and. It continues until the supervising officers are all friends, relatives, etc. With 2014 coming to a close, we've gone through our archives for the past 12 months to bring you some of the biggest corrections stories of the year. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. In response to a request of the Deputy Attorney General, the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted a wide-ranging investigation to determine whether any Department of Justice (DOJ) employees had attended the Roundup and, if so, whether they engaged in or approved of racial, criminal, or other kinds of misconduct at any of the sixteen Roundups from 1980 through 1995. Performances in the skit competitions included participants who bit off the head of a dead snake; ate a whole raw fish soaked in beer; defecated on stage; soiled their trousers on stage; and pulled chewing tobacco out of their trousers pretending it to be excrement and put it in their mouths. Share. Two troops are up for awards: One has worked their ass off, day in and day out. Regardless of their source, if true, these allegations threatened to seriously undermine the ability of these agents to perform their critical missions, particularly enforcing federal criminal law, upholding civil rights laws, and providing equal protection under the law. Finally in October he relinquished the videotape for analysis by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and agreed to an on-the-record interview. Beshear confirms 3 dead after severe weather makes its way through Kentuckiana, LG&E: 'Significant' power outages with no restoration time given, A councilwoman's 'road map' to equity in Louisville, 'We have another study that tells us what we already know' | Black Louisvillians react to LMPD review, 'Breonna's home state continues to fail her' | Louisville groups raise concerns over changes to bill that would limit no-knock warrants, 'To lose my son in the same community I grew up in, it's tough.' At our direction, DOJ components canvassed their employees to determine whether any had either attended or been invited to a Roundup or knew anyone who had. Also, the appearance of favoritism weakens morale in government service, not to mention public faith in the integrity of government. F. Conclusion Although we heard conflicting views as to whether this conduct was intended to send a benign message of "Southern heritage" or a message of racism and intolerance, especially towards African Americans, we conclude that such displays had the effect, whether intended or not, of adding to a racially charged and hostile environment. B. For 1989, we received numerous allegations of racist conduct, most of which were made by Richard Hayward. For example, in Birmingham, Alabama, two closeted individuals closely associated with the Skinhead movement are firmly entrenched in the U.S. Attorney's Office. Thus, DOJ participation in the Roundup was relatively insignificant both numerically and organizationally. Lieutenant Ellis has worked in a number of specialized assignments including with the Problem Oriented Policing Unit, Parole Intervention and Career Criminal Apprehension Teams, Narcotics and Robbery/Burglary divisions. In part this lack of understanding is the result of very general provisions that govern off-duty conduct. The initial allegations of racist conduct were made in an article in the Washington Times on July 11. As favoritism is the broadest of these related terms, we'll start with its definition. We could not escape making judgments concerning their credibility. Johnson, C. (2012). This agency, is the worst "law enforcement" agency I've worked for. 1 . Indeed, by 1990, law enforcement officers -- federal, state, and local -- were outnumbered by participants who had no such affiliation. No DOJ employee ever won Redneck of the Year, Ugliest Good O' Boy, Liar's Contest, or Beer Enduro competitions. We thus concluded that in choosing the Roundup's location, its organizers did not have a racist intent, although the perceptions among minorities that they would not be welcome was an unintended consequence of the selected site. In our view, the existing standards of conduct are broad enough to regulate off-duty conduct when it could impair the effectiveness of DOJ employees or bring discredit on their employing agency. Although one other witness believed he saw a T-shirt similar to the one described by Randall worn by one person at the 1995 Roundup, OIG found insufficient credible evidence that such shirts were for sale at the Roundup. We found substantial evidence that the campground was a hostile environment for women especially in the later years of the Roundup. Every president and governor names close associates to key cabinet positions. We not only had to deal with weak recollections due to the passage of time but also faulty or incomplete memories because so many participants had consumed so much alcohol during the Roundup. Only one DOJ employee, now retired, served in an official organizational capacity as an "MOB," which stood for the "members of the board" or "mean old bastards," the group with responsibility for cooking, registration, and official recreational activities. During a debate with incumbent (real) Governor Brian Kemp (R-GA) Sunday night, Abrams decided to take a potshot at county sheriffs throughout the state. Internal transparency builds trust and more importantly- ownership. Apparently, the same concern and solicitude did not extend to the relatively few female law enforcement personnel who went to a Roundup. Even male attendees told us that would not have wanted any female family member or friend to attend the Roundup because of how women were treated. Roundup's Racism in the Law enforcement Community Never Died. In Hayward's case, for example, the important kernels of truth contained in his 1990 videotape and in his allegation regarding a particularly egregious racist skit in 1990 were combined with other allegations that were embellishments of actual events and in many cases distortions and outright fabrications. Coming from the Italian word for nephew, it covers favoritism to members of the family. Information -- a particular responsibility of the Department of Justice. PDF Women in Policing - West Texas A&M University James retired as an LMPD officer in 2003. Ultimately, the purported eyewitness recanted his claim. This interviewing strategy was designed to ferret out as much information from as many different sources as possible to minimize the chances that racial or other kinds of misconduct might be concealed from us. Organizational expectation is who you know rather than what you do. In 1993, Hayward arrived at the campground with his car plastered with racially offensive and political materials. One of the most basic themes in ethics is fairness, stated this way by Artistotle: "Equals should be treated equally and unequals unequally." Once Hayward and Randall's allegations were made public, one former and several current black ATF agents made allegations that the Roundup was a "whites-only" event and that no black agents had ever been invited to attend. For example, one T-shirt for sale depicted three police officers around a police car and two black persons being held face down on the hood of the car. Favoritism can be demonstrated in hiring, honoring, or awarding contracts. When the organizers of the Roundup learned about the signs, they ordered the signs taken down. If theres hardly any women in leadership, youre given the perception that there is discrimination practices going on., THE HILL 1625 K STREET, NW SUITE 900 WASHINGTON DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 TEL | 202-628-8503 FAX. Youre seeing that problem right now with [FBI Director] Andy McCabe and the people there that moved up there and moved around quite fast, as opposed to having any female people, criminal investigators in those top ranks, she continued. This interviewing strategy was designed to ferret out as much information from as many different sources as possible to minimize the chances that racial or other kinds of misconduct might be concealed from us.