Biff_Poindexter
Diamond Member
Pete Buttigieg Fired South Bend’s Black Police Chief. It Still Stings.
So Pete Buttigieg's past has come back to bite him -- his racist past. Mayor Pete fired the city's first black police chief (Darryl Boykins) because that police chief uncovered racist cops among his ranks. Mr. Boykins had improperly taped phone calls of senior white officers who were said to have used racist language, including about him. From the article:
"With federal prosecutors scrutinizing Mr. Boykins, the 29-year-old mayor fired the veteran police chief just before the Trayvon Martin protest. No action was taken against the officers. Precisely what they said on the tapes of their department phone calls is unknown to the public: Mr. Buttigieg has refused to release them, saying the matter is still being resolved in court."
Mayor Pete claimed that he was pressured by the federal prosecutors to fire the police chief to avoid having charges filed against him -- but the US attorney's office called such claims ridiculous and contrary to DOJ protocol. 4 white senior officers who were recorded on the tapes claimed their privacy was violated; Mr. Boykins has insisted that the recordings were made inadvertently, as part of a longstanding police department practice of taping some phone lines. What makes the case even more racially charged is not only did the black police chief get fired while no action was taken against the other officers, but the only other person who heard the tapes -- communications director, Karen DePaepe (also black) was also fired. In court filings, she described them as “discriminatory racial comments of high ranking officers” in the department, and said she told Mr. Boykins about them. She also heard “something I believe to be possibly illegal.”
The DOJ didn't file charges, both Boykins and the white officers on the tape sued the city and won their settlements(totaling 2 million dollars) -- people believed Mayor Pete quickly settled in order to sweep the whole thing under the rug but that incident still to this day haunts him and has hurt his standing in the black community in South Bend -- which should be a plus to him if he ever decides to run as a republican.
So Pete Buttigieg's past has come back to bite him -- his racist past. Mayor Pete fired the city's first black police chief (Darryl Boykins) because that police chief uncovered racist cops among his ranks. Mr. Boykins had improperly taped phone calls of senior white officers who were said to have used racist language, including about him. From the article:
"With federal prosecutors scrutinizing Mr. Boykins, the 29-year-old mayor fired the veteran police chief just before the Trayvon Martin protest. No action was taken against the officers. Precisely what they said on the tapes of their department phone calls is unknown to the public: Mr. Buttigieg has refused to release them, saying the matter is still being resolved in court."
Mayor Pete claimed that he was pressured by the federal prosecutors to fire the police chief to avoid having charges filed against him -- but the US attorney's office called such claims ridiculous and contrary to DOJ protocol. 4 white senior officers who were recorded on the tapes claimed their privacy was violated; Mr. Boykins has insisted that the recordings were made inadvertently, as part of a longstanding police department practice of taping some phone lines. What makes the case even more racially charged is not only did the black police chief get fired while no action was taken against the other officers, but the only other person who heard the tapes -- communications director, Karen DePaepe (also black) was also fired. In court filings, she described them as “discriminatory racial comments of high ranking officers” in the department, and said she told Mr. Boykins about them. She also heard “something I believe to be possibly illegal.”
The DOJ didn't file charges, both Boykins and the white officers on the tape sued the city and won their settlements(totaling 2 million dollars) -- people believed Mayor Pete quickly settled in order to sweep the whole thing under the rug but that incident still to this day haunts him and has hurt his standing in the black community in South Bend -- which should be a plus to him if he ever decides to run as a republican.
