As ABC7 reports, a handful of officers in Monmouth County, New Jersey used racial slurs and bigoted comments in text messages to each other.
The officers weren’t initially being investigated for racist behavior. Rather, for a police-involved car crash that led to the collection of cell phone data.
But when officials began examining the texts sent that day between the officers, they came across something much more troubling.
“Next I’ll be cleaning the floors or some sh– like I’m the f—ing hired ni—r or something,” an officer from the Marlboro Township (N.J.) Police Department texted.
In another message, a derogatory remark was made about a member of the Asian community.
“Look at that g__k,” the message said.
A different officer from Freehold Township reportedly texted racial slurs about the Black community and a separate officer from the same department texted: “I’m not racist. I hate everyone. If anything, Jews is one ‘race’ I hate. I don’t have a problem with Black people. They make there own problems and names.”
“We have to police without bias, we have to serve all communities equally,” said Harrison Dillard, President of the NAACP in Hunterdon County.
“One message that stands out the most is the one that says I hate ‘n’ words,” Dillard said. “It doesn’t say ‘n’ words, it says the word. There’s no ambiguity there.”
As both a veteran law enforcement officer of 28 years and president of the NAACP in Hunterdon County, Dillard says police need to be policed to ensure only the best are allowed to wear the badge.
“We can’t see the heart of everybody and every officer as they’re going through the hiring process,” Dillard said. “These officers showed us their hearts, they showed us what they think of people of color.”
Both the Marlboro and Freehold police departments post disciplinary actions online. It shows one Marlboro officer involved was fired for the text he made. There’s no record of any formal disciplinary action against the other three officers.
Eyewitness News confirmed that one of the Marlboro officers is still on the job. Both officers involved from Freehold Township resigned on the same day from the department in good standing.
The NAACP said it’s not just about whether the officers were disciplined but whether their previous on-duty interactions have been investigated.
“Every officer should have been held accountable and their records should have been reviewed to see if they have disparately arrested people, pulled people over, using force against people,” Dillard said. “Whatever they did in their line of duty should have been examined.”