An institution must protect itself if it is to remain true to its definition. What does that protection look like in a society that, according to the feminist theorist bell hooks, is white supremacist hetero-patriarchal? Welp … enter the Michigan State Police (MSP), an entity that has “struggled” with “diversity” since before a consent decree reached with the federal government was lifted back in 1993. This week, two African-American members of the force spoke about their experiences with discrimination. The men, who have a total of 35 years on the job between them, are suing the state police. Why? They say it’s because they’ve been retaliated against … for suing the state police.
Darzeil Hall and Lamarr Johnson sued the MSP for racial discrimination and were awarded $5.2 million by a jury in 2013. Since then, the two say they’ve faced a variety of petty harassments (both professional and personal), unwarranted investigations, and denials of promotion.
Hall says he didn’t suffer any major issues with racial discrimination through most of his 20-year career. But that began to change in December 2010, when he says that he and Johnson thought they had passed a training course for firearms examination. They were even given certificates at a public ceremony.”
“Two months later, they said, they were both removed from the program they thought they had passed, on accusations of poor performance. White participants who had lower scores were promoted, records have shown.
The pair made the decision to sue, and say that’s when even more discrimination began happening.
Within the first two years after the lawsuit, Hall said, supervisors began aggressively scrutinizing his behavior: an extremely minor error in his daily report sparked an internal affairs investigation; his take-home vehicle was taken away, while others in the detachment still had theirs; his key to a fitness center was deactivated, and for the first time in 20 years, he received a “needs improvement” rating in an annual evaluation.
…
Johnson, for his part, said in the lawsuit that he was denied at least five promotions since the lawsuit ended, although [his attorney said] he holds a master’s degree in public administration. (Within the last month and after the lawsuit was filed, Johnson has since been promoted to detective sergeant.)
Since Hall and Johnson’s lawsuit, other black troopers have come forward with their tales of differential treatment by the organization. One black member of the organization’s K9 unit—the only black member at the time—says that he was accused of requesting too much overtime and that he was demoted for leaving a sporting event early. Contrast this treatment with that meted out to another state trooper during the same time period:
In June 2013, a trooper left his two canines in a locked car with no ventilation for 10 hours, and they died, records show ... Yet that trooper, who is white, was issued only a written reprimand …
After that incident, State Police noted in a statement from October 2015 that prosecutors cleared the trooper of any criminal wrongdoing, and that canine unit vehicles now have sensors in them so that the mistake is not repeated.
The MSP has, of course, denied any wrongdoing. The agency’s director, Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue, the first woman ever to hold the position, knows the department has a problem and says they are actively working to increase the number of black troopers.
Unfortunately, women haven’t fared so well either.
Despite having its first female director in Etue, the MSP also has moved backward in terms of gender representation. Only 8.3% of state troopers are women, down from 10.9% when the consent decree was lifted in 1993, and 13.4% in 2000.
“That is disappointing,” Etue said, adding that she expects improvements in those numbers as well.
The department hasn't recruited a black female trooper since 2004.
There were no female troopers of any race at the time of the federal lawsuit — only seven policewomen, not assigned to regular road duties.
Male colleagues nicknamed them the “trooperettes.”
All societies and the institutions they birth have “others”—those who don’t fit in. White supremacist hetero-patriarchal institutions are no different, even when they say they want diversity. Even when they say they really, really want it, and they are actively working to fit the “others” in.
They just can’t help themselves.