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Several black police officers say they faced racism from their colleagues while at the University of Washington, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.
Five black officers from the campus police department have filed an $ 8 million lawsuit against the university, alleging a culture rooted in racism, racial slurs and vile comments made against blacks, calling it “insupportable”.
UW officers Russell Ellis, Karinn Young and Gabriel Golden described to The Times the racial abuse they said they suffered, including Young being called a monkey and having bananas placed in front of his locker and Ellis being offered a Watermelon energy drink colleague who reportedly said, “I thought you all liked watermelon and Chicken Popeyes.”
I can’t sleep sometimes, Ellis told the newspaper. It affected me in ways I couldn’t have imagined.
Golden also said he heard a white colleague refer to a black officer who was put on leave using a racial slur, adding that some officers criticized the police chief for hiring too many blacks.
It gradually got worse, Golden told The Times. I went from loving my job, from loving going to work every day, to starting to dread going to work because I didn’t know what was going to happen next.
Ellis mentioned that he joined the universities force in 2007 only to find out a year later that current and former employees filed a civil rights lawsuit against the department, alleging discrimination against black, Jewish and other officers. female.
The officer left in 2012 before returning a few years later when the department made changes, the Times noted.
The Hill has contacted the University of Washington for comment.
UW officials told The Times they were “stunned” by the allegations, adding that the administration was not aware of the allegations before.
UW is committed to maintaining a fair, equitable and inclusive environment and provides many avenues for employees to report inappropriate or discriminatory behavior so that they can be addressed immediately, the UW spokesperson told the newspaper. , Victor Balta.
The allegations come as various police departments have dealt with issues of racism within their police forces, with officers in Maryland and Ohio filing lawsuits for discrimination against their force.
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