Confederate Sticker In Police Locker Room Prompts Investigation
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DALLAS (CBS 11 NEWS) - Confederate flags and racial slurs are the focus of an internal investigation at the Dallas Police Department.
The public information office confirms the Dallas Police Department is investigating claims that a confederate flag sticker was found in the police locker room at Dallas Love Field Airport.
But sources tell the CBS 11 I-Team the accusations are part of a much bigger problem amongst the officers at the airport. The I-team has been told there is growing tension at the airport.
Officers say magnetic confederate flags began popping up in the locker room on Friday. They say the flags appeared all weekend long, but supervisors did not react until Monday morning when a supervisor found another flag.
"There was a three day gap, and we're going to ask questions about why nothing was done," says Sergeant Geroge Aranda, President of the Hispanic Dallas Police Association. Sergeant Aranda says the officers, who allegedly placed the flags in the locker room, repeatedly defended their actions. "We were told that three or four (officers) said we have a freedom of speech."
He and other sources tell the I-team the investigation involves more than just claims about confederate flags. "We were told there were threats of individuals showing up to work, and I hope it's not true, but individuals showing up to work with white sheets..."
The Black Police Association says if the allegations are true than the officers need to be disciplined and moved. "We have enough going on that we should not be fighting amongst ourselves," said an officer speaking on behalf of the Association.
Sergeant Aranda said the police department has thousands of officers and this incident is not systemic. "We all get along...it's very small and isolated... we expect our command staff to look at the issue and address it."
The I-team has also learned the National Association for Advancement of Colored People reached out to Dallas Police asking questions about the incidents. A spokesperson says the NAACP had plans to meet with Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings on Friday, and, now, this issue will be discussed also.
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