Personal written invitations were sent only to those who had previously registered for a Roundup. In the public sphere, favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism also undermine the common good. No DOJ employee ever served on the "REX" (Roundup Executive Committee), the group responsible for setting Roundup policies. It continues until the supervising officers are all friends, relatives, etc. PDF Women in Policing - West Texas A&M University 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 practice should be made. In 1989 and other unspecified years we found evidence that cassette tapes of music by a performer named David Allen Coe were played at various campsites, including a song named "My Wife Ran Off With a Nigger." | Father of Louisville man killed in shooting pleads for end to gun violence, Timeline: Here are the changes and reforms we've seen in Louisville since Breonna Taylor's death. There are many fair and impartial leaders within the military. "We are proud of the support we have from Democrat and Republican sheriffs. It has come to past that as things change that some things never change. In a fear-based culture, people consciously and unconsciously avoid risk and being risk adverse costs the organization limited opportunities for innovation as well as an overall environment where new ideas are rejected (Catmull, 2014). ", Racists with Badges: The Good Ol' Boys Roundup. Worst yet are those organizations that seek improvement in this area and bring in another person to fix, who ultimately repeats the same thing in the attempt of changing the organization. In the change process, the new leader creates more of the same, as the only thing that changes are the players, not the game (Katzenbach, Steffen, & Kronley, 2012). 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. COLUMN: Bryan Co. Good Ol' Boy System Means No More Services for DV, Sexual Assault Victims. Understanding the Dark Side of Leadership - Law Enforcement Today Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. 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. For cabinet level positions, an executive will probably be drawn to experienced, qualified candidates, but historically, the lower down the ladder, the more likely for someone's brother-in-law to be slipped into a job for which he is not qualified. WHAS11 talked to two retired LMPD officers who are African Americans. Roundup's Racism in the Law enforcement Community Never Died. 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. Taunting the ATF agent about the presence of the two blacks, one of the Fort Lauderdale officers stated, "ATF fucks up everything they touch. . Unsubstantiated Allegations Favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism all interfere with fairness because they give undue advantage to someone who does not necessarily merit this treatment. 01-08-2001, 07:43 PM. The preponderance of the evidence suggested that local police officers from Florence and Boone County, Kentucky, were responsible for posting these signs. Although not raised initially as allegations, OIG found substantial credible evidence of rampant alcohol abuse and extreme cases of juvenile and shocking behavior. In response to this activity and an article Hayward published about the Roundup the following month in the NAAWP Newsletter, in which he claimed that numerous David Duke supporters attended the Roundup, the event's organizers instituted new policies for 1993 prohibiting political and racist activity. Others may restrict the hiring of relatives or friends in more general conflict-of-interest rules. When the investigation began, concern was raised that federal employees might have used government time and resources to promote racist activities, in violation of Office of Government Ethics standards. 1 . This impacts the department in multiple ways such as: NEVER MISS A STORY WITH THE LAW ENFORCEMENT TODAY APP DOWNLOAD HERE. 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 Other isolated but nevertheless significant evidence of racially offensive or insensitive conduct occurred in a number of years. racism and the criminal justice system, safety and preparing minority youth for interactions with police, fostering positive relationships between police and communities of color, assisting . The popular kids do what they want and push people around, all because they have nothing to fear disciplinary wise. In some instances these persons cooperated; in others they refused to answer any questions. We found no evidence that such "licenses" were widely available at the Roundup; indeed, we found no one other than Randall who claimed to have seen one in the campground. These people are so bitter that they spend most trying to screw over each other in order to make themselves feel better. 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. We found substantial evidence that the campground was a hostile environment for women especially in the later years of the Roundup. We conclude that the name "Good O' Boy" was not selected or used with the intent to send a message that the event was racially exclusive. Our report describes many of the crude and disgusting incidents that were related to us during our interviews. Georgia sheriffs supporting Gov. The good ole boy system. August 2, 2020. In our view, this employee demonstrated poor judgment that falls below applicable standards because he attended the Roundup after knowing of racist incidents at the event and his other actions evinced a toleration for, and encouragement of, such racist behavior. In addition to Hayward, two other witnesses had vague and indeterminate recollections of some type of racist sign being posted in the campground for a short time in 1989. That same day several of the Fort Lauderdale officers left the Roundup. And no DOJ employee was ever elected to be president or vice-president of the Roundup. They are not operating in any undercover capacity to infiltrate this racist organization. 1980-95, we conclude that the Roundup was not, as it was portrayed in the media stories, a "Klan rally," an intentionally "whites-only" racist gathering, or a haven for criminal conduct. 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. In addition to Roundup participants, OIG made significant efforts to interview the persons who alleged misconduct against the Roundup and its participants. "A 'good ole' boy' network refers to an informal system where white men of a similar background use their influence for their mutual benefit (and often to the detriment of those who are not part of the 'good ole' boy' network)." . In 1992, two different signs were displayed at the campground. There arent any ifs, ands, or buts about it. During this sixteen-year period, more than 1,000 people participated in the Roundup, including an estimated 500 federal, state, and local law enforcement and Department of Justice (DOJ) officials. Hayward videotaped the 1990 Roundup. Have a news tip? On July 11, 1995, the Washington Times blew the whistle on this annual racist Roundup of law enforcement agents and their invited guests. Contrary to the media accounts of this incident, the black agents were not turned away from the Roundup. Race, racism and law enforcement: A call to action The next day Rightmyer told the offenders that blacks were welcome at the Roundup and if they did not like it, they should leave. I, personally, served under them and would gladly fall on a sword if they asked even all these years later. In 1990, the investigation determined that racist signs, including the sign shown in the Hayward video, were posted on a tree in the campground for parts of one day. We have the same advice for "good old boys" that we have for all employers - but we emphasize it more. For 1989, we received numerous allegations of racist conduct, most of which were made by Richard Hayward. Although not raised initially as allegations, OIG found substantial credible evidence of rampant alcohol abuse and extreme cases of juvenile and shocking behavior. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. 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. This failure, together with the availability of massive amounts of alcohol, no doubt contributed to the recurrence of such incidents. As discussed below, two of them who were accompanied by a white ATF agent got into a confrontation when the white ATF agent was accused of "bringing niggers to the Roundup" by the event staff members who were operating the "Nigger checkpoint.". Hayward and his attorney terminated the interview shortly after the questioning turned to Hayward's own white supremacist views and activities. Good Ol boys club. 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. The OIG report contains a summary of our findings with respect to these and all other DOJ employees who attended. 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. Organizational expectation is who you know rather than what you do. In 1985, an unidentified local deputy sheriff pulled a statue of a black figure, referred to as a "lawn jockey," out of his camper and tied his dog to it before being told to put it back in his camper. They are the power in-group where promotability is based upon who you know rather than what you know. The signs were removed and destroyed. The initial allegations of racist conduct were made in an article in the Washington Times on July 11. Internal transparency builds trust and more importantly- ownership. OIG found no evidence that any DOJ employee -- or federal employees from other agencies -- participated in such conduct. Golfing partners, people who come over for Sunday dinner, members of the same congregation all are likely to exert a greater influence over an official than a stranger might. In 1992, he left a pile of these materials at the registration desk, which the people at the desk promptly discarded. These individuals no longer use the term "nigger" in racially mixed company, but they freely use this derogatory term while relaxing and socializing in intimate settings with all-white friends and family members. Third, executives should be thinking about strategic succession planning rather than waiting for retirements to occur and making picks in the moment. Those incidents helped create and perpetuate a climate that was not welcoming towards African Americans, other minorities, or women. Year-to-date through October 23, 2020, the numbers were already at 632 calls. Superiors that follow the good ol boy system rarely make an effort to hide their favoritism. 4 opportunities to get the organization out of the club: Applicability to policing. I can see and understand how the system would come into practice. As the old saying goes, "It's not what you know but who you know," or, as blogger Danny Ferguson put it, "It's not what you don't know; it's who your college roommate knows." One of the most basic themes in ethics is fairness, stated this way by Artistotle: "Equals should be treated equally and unequals unequally." Who knows if they will have our back when the time comes? 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. Others witnessed or heard enough that they showed poor judgment in not taking appropriate steps to satisfy themselves that the objectionable conduct would not recur. The only identifying information we received was that an unspecified person from Ohio and another from Mississippi possessed one of these tapes. 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. Many DOJ employees believe that what they do off duty is their business and not a proper concern of their employer. 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. What do favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism have to do with ethics? 2023 Copyright Law Enforcement Today - All Rights Reserved. The caption of the photo on the T-shirt read, "Boyz on the Hood." Select the option or tab named Internet Options (Internet Explorer), Options (Firefox), Preferences (Safari) or Settings (Chrome). He is adept in several forms of martial arts, including Kenpo Karate, Tae Kwon Do, and various grappling styles. Over time, when you copy an image repeatedly, the pixilation becomes distorted, and over time its not a useful quality image worth printing. Although our investigation established that the Roundup was nothing like a "Klan rally," the fact that specific acts of racist misconduct occurred in three different years made more difficult our assessment of the general charge that the Roundup had a "whites-only" attendance policy. In media interviews, Randall and Hayward stated that they went to the site of the 1995 Roundup with the intention of finding racist conduct to report. They are here you know. There are many fair and impartial leaders within the military. You're skipping over experienced and educated applicants for a buddy. Both of these individuals are affectionately coddled and protected by at least one magistrate and two sitting U.S. District Court judges on the federal bench for the Northern District of Alabama. . Some spent little time at the campground where the misconduct took place; others hardly stayed at the Roundup for any period of time. He refused to comply with any aspect of this subpoena. 1. Another T-shirt had a crude drawing of the figure used in the children's game, "Hangman," and the initials "O" and "J" beneath the figure. Cronyism occurs within a network of insiders-the "good ol' boys," who confer favors on one another. The official activities of the Roundup were centered on athletic events, drinking, and what were intended to be humorous performances by participants vying for such titles as Redneck of the Year. Example video title will go here for this video. WHAS11 asked Mayor Greg Fischer about the allegations on Tuesday. Intent and a "Whites-only" Policy . Findings Regarding Specific Racist Misconduct. The Uniform Code of Military Justice is very clear. Basically favoritism is just what it sounds like; it's favoring a person not because he or she is doing the best job but rather because of some extraneous feature-membership in a favored group, personal likes and dislikes, etc. Remarkably, we found no one in attendance who appeared to be offended by such activity or who sought to curb it. The accounts of nudity reported to us included men on their way to and from the showers, women dancers, women baring their chests, a retired officer exposing himself with his badge displayed on his penis, people pulling trousers off other attendees, and other similar behavior. (1999). Satterthwaite claims that leaders within the department will use loopholes in the system if they don't like the candidate that receives the highest ranking. The initial allegations brought in their wake a blanket condemnation of all federal law enforcement personnel who attended the event. 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. When the conduct was brought to the attention of Roundup organizers it was criticized and terminated. When someone is granted a position because of connections rather than because he or she has the best credentials and experience, the service that person renders to the public may be inferior. Apparently, the same concern and solicitude did not extend to the relatively few female law enforcement personnel who went to a Roundup. 05-26-2005, 01:54 AM. Immediately after the skit, Rightmyer publicly criticized its participants but took no other action, such as ejecting them from the Roundup. The lawsuit alleges that the department retaliated against Satthertwaite when he filed a complaint about a practice he believed to be unlawful. Blaming these people for the sins of others would have been unfair. Contact Mike for services Life Coaching, Training, Team Building, Corporate Training, Project Management, and Public Speaking The "good ol' boys club" mentality pretty much turns our place of work into high school. An old boy network (also known as old boys' network, ol' boys' club, old boys' club, old boys' society, good ol' boys club, or good ol' boys system) is an informal system in which wealthy men with similar social or educational background help each other in business or personal matters. 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 part this lack of understanding is the result of very general provisions that govern off-duty conduct. This woman denied that she was raped. 2. Favoritism, Cronyism, and Nepotism - Markkula Center for Applied Ethics Even though our assessment is that an inadequate evidentiary basis exists to recommend discipline for any of the other DOJ employees whose conduct we considered, we are extremely troubled by many of the excesses committed by non-DOJ attendees at the Roundup that developed during the mid-1980s and grew far worse during the years 1990-95. #8. What ethical dilemmas do favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism present. Thus, whether intended or not, the Roundup was in fact predominantly a gathering of whites. Although not identified as such, Randall and Hayward proved to be members of a militia group based in Alabama that sought to discredit the ATF. Corrections1 is revolutionizing the way in which the corrections community finds relevant news, So, unconsciously we end up testing them, and closely evaluating their every move. Instead we have racism, nepotism, favoritism, and few other ism's. T-shirts were sold at the Roundup that were found to be racially insensitive. You would have everyone on equal footing, we would be treated fairly. "man's job." The "good ole' boy" network is alive and well in some departments. We believe that such off-duty responsibilities are not well-understood by many DOJ employees. Racists Vandalized LeBrons Los Angeles Home. Please follow him on Twitter @BrianEllis10. They never reach their end goal by the way. 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. We had a responsibility to set the record straight as to what actually occurred at the Roundup during a sixteen-year period. This attention may have affected community differences such as law enforcement priorities if some agencies were focusing more on drug use than on domestic violence. 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. We could not escape making judgments concerning their credibility. Collaborative environments are incubators for good ideas to occur. In 1992, he left a pile of these materials at the registration desk, which the people at the desk promptly discarded. Without these examples, the texture of the event could not be adequately communicated. Hayward, who made the videotape with the "checkpoint" sign and who in an affidavit submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee claimed to have witnessed a broad array of racist acts at a number of the Roundups, refused for several months to cooperate with the OIG investigation, submit to an interview, or surrender the original videotape. When the investigation began, concern was raised that federal employees might have used government time and resources to promote racist activities, in violation of Office of Government Ethics standards. 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. Time for reform and change. This failure, together with the availability of massive amounts of alcohol, no doubt contributed to the recurrence of such incidents. It must take into account the known facts of the egregious behavior, what the employee saw and did, and how the misconduct was handled by the event's organizers. However, in an investigation that examined events occurring over a sixteen-year period and involving well in excess of 1,000 participants, we cannot be sure that we have uncovered every objectionable incident. In one photo, a group surrounding the flag are shown making obscene gestures and raising their fists in a Nazi salute. Information agent and to the applicable Department of Treasury component for one of its employees who used to be employed by DOJ. Vari Hall, Santa Clara University500 El Camino RealSanta Clara, CA 95053408-554-5319, Ethical Considerations for COVID-19 Vaccination, Hackworth Fellowships Project Showcase 2021, The Ethics of Going Back to School in a Pandemic, Systemic Racism, Police Brutality, and the Killing of George Floyd, COVID-19: Ethics, Health and Moving Forward, The Ethical Implications of Mass Shootings, Political Speech in the Age of Social Media, Point/Counterpoint: Democratic Legitimacy, Brett Kavanaugh and the Ethics of the Supreme Court Confirmation Process. In some instances these persons cooperated; in others they refused to answer any questions. Hayward and his attorney terminated the interview shortly after the questioning turned to Hayward's own white supremacist views and activities. While we conclude that the organizers did not specifically intend for the Roundup to be a "whites-only" racist gathering, we were able to identify only twenty individual members of minority groups, including four blacks, who ever attended a Roundup. OIG found no evidence that any DOJ employee -- or federal employees from other agencies -- participated in such conduct. A problem arises, however, when a leader decides to sweep an issue under the rug. In the 1970s the percentage of women in law en-forcement was only at 2% (Price, 1996). d) Racist Confrontation g) Display of Confederate Flag The lawsuit, filed by Sam Aguiar on behalf of Officer Philip Satterthwaite, claims LMPD allows friends, family and favorites to receive positions over more qualified applicants, particularly Black officers. C. Findings Regarding General Allegations of Racist Thus, DOJ participation in the Roundup was relatively insignificant both numerically and organizationally. Why this hurts us The American Civil Service Act was passed in 1883 in large part because so many patronage jobs, down to dogcatcher, were being filled by people whose only qualification for employment was their support for a particular party or candidate. 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. We encountered numerous witnesses who were unable to supply very much information, particularly those who attended a Roundup in its earliest years. However, we found no evidence linking DOJ employees to acts of public drunkenness, public lewdness, or any of the other sordid aspects of the Roundup in any specific or persistent way. We relate this to the idea of making a copy of a copy. It begs the question of how important relationships are in the advancement of people within an organization, and how do great organizations find the balance of personal relationships? ", 4. He contended that racist signs and an effigy of a black person were displayed at the registration desk for the entire Roundup. OIG received no allegations and found no evidence that any DOJ property was used to support the Roundup. Satterthwaite claims that an unmarked vehicle conducted surveillance on his home for several days, causing him to become "disturbed, frightened, confused and anxious." OIG also found insufficient evidence to conclude that a racist sign was displayed in any part of the campground during the 1989 Roundup. Many DOJ employees believe that what they do off duty is their business and not a proper concern of their employer. Furthermore, because of their duty to fairly investigate and prosecute violations of the law, DOJ law enforcement officers are held to even stricter application of these standards of conduct. Near these signs, and also visible in the video, was a drawing of a likeness of an African American with a circle around it and a red slash across the circle. 9. He also alleged that ATF agents surrounded cars entering the campground and shouted, "Got any niggers in that car?"