Posted on 07/28/2008 9:43:23 AM PDT by Stoat
Sunday, July 27th 2008, 11:11 PM
Pace for NewsCops Shelron Smikle (l.), 28, and Blanch O’Neal, 38, pictured here at their lawyer’s office, plan to sue NYPD.
Cairo for NewsThe cops say when Assistant Chief Gerald Nelson (above) found out they had lodged a complaint about a black sergeant’s N-word-laced rant, Nelson repeated the N-word.
Two black cops who reported a boss for using a racial slur say they were viciously chewed out by an African-American chief in the NYPD and are now planning a lawsuit.
Assistant Chief Gerald Nelson went ballistic after Officer Shelron Smikle made a June 10 report to the Internal Affairs Bureau charging that a black sergeant at the 83rd Precinct dropped the N-bomb on him.
Two days later, Nelson, the commander of Patrol Borough Brooklyn North, ordered Smikle, 28, and his partner, Blanch O'Neal, 38, to his office, they told the Daily News in an interview.
"'We have friends in IAB, and you're full of s--t!'" Nelson screamed, according to Smikle and O'Neal. "So what, he [the sergeant] called you a n----r? If you can't handle it, resign!'"
Smikle, who was born on the Caribbean island of Jamaica, said he also complained that the sergeant told him "to go back to [his] country" and referred to him as a "dollar van driver."
"So what, he said that to you?" Nelson allegedly responded.
"'Get the f--k out of my office! It doesn't matter if this conversation is being recorded. I'm not saying anything wrong.'"
The cops said they were shocked by Nelson's alleged racial insensitivity in repeating the slur.
"It's not acceptable for a chief in charge ... to say that," Smikle said. "It's a slap in the face."
The two cops have hired lawyer Eric Sanders of the firm Jeffrey Goldberg in Lake Success, L.I., to file a federal complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a precursor to filing a lawsuit.
"Chief Nelson is African-American, and we would expect as a police executive he would have responded differently," Sanders said.
"If he feels this way, what does it say about how they treat the public in Brooklyn North?"
O'Neal and Smikle say the problem started when they were dumped on foot patrol on a 97-degree day because the keys to their radio car were missing, which they say was due to a prank.
A black sergeant lit into Smikle for being in the stationhouse instead of being out in the streets and allegedly spewed racial epithets that were overheard by O'Neal.
Later that day, the cops fell sick from heat exhaustion, then called the IAB and the office of equal employment opportunity to lodge complaints about the sergeant.
Nelson acknowledged that he reamed the cops for going to the IAB, told them their allegations were false and threw them out of his office.
He adamantly denies he used the N-word, however.
"I never use that language," Nelson said. "That is an absolute lie. You guys print whatever you like, but if you print that, you're printing a lie."
Nelson also warned that the cops' complaints would get them in more trouble.
"Now I have to open an investigation. If I see this in the paper, I will discipline them again. I don't need this in my career," he told The News. "But it comes with the territory."
Nelson's mouth has landed him in hot water before.
When he was in charge of the school-safety division in 2005, he allegedly referred to angry parents as "b-----s" at a meeting attended by 850 school-safety agents. The agents' union received dozens of complaints, but Nelson denied making the statements.
Oh, poor babies, their chief told them the truth, that they were whining cry babies and they couldn’t handle it. We should give this chief a medal and promote him, maybe to mayor.
You can’t be serious. If it the sergeant the complaint was against was a white guy he would have been fired immediately. But since he is black it is perfectly alright.
Isn’t about time we outlaw the letter “N”. After all, we all know what the “N” word is.
I'm guessing that Mr. Sanders does not come cheaply, and none of this litigation would be happening if there wasn't a feeling that they had won the lottery.
The real problem is that the two cops are overweight and out of shape, besides being slackers
People who work in prisons or on the street with the low life and who are offended by words, are unclear on their job setting.
no....neologism.
Goldberg, huh?
The irony jokes write themselves.
“Dang brother, you might get paid on this one. You got a good enough case to get a Jew lawyer”.
Hope and Change.
While we are at it, besides outlawing the use of the letter “N” maybe we should take a good look at the letter “I” as an accomplice.
I agree.
Shut our mouths? No way. This is a slippery slope that would end in our right to free speech. Be careful what you wish for. It could turn into a nightmare.
Yikes. From the headline I thought it was another story on how Detroit mayor Kwamilla Gorilla assaulted another set of police officers!
She’s a cop???? Riiiight. No affirmative action going on there.
I thought it was okay for black folks to use the N-word like they do in rap music. At least that's what the MSM and the PC crowd keeps telling me.
Negro?
LOL!
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