Black Police Officers' Group, The Guardian Civic League, Sues over Web Site, Domelights.com, for Overt Racism

Can we all ever learn to get along? Black or white. It doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Guardian Civic League, an association of black officers, has sued the Philadelphia Police Department in federal court for allowing its officers to post "blatantly racist and offensive" content on Domelights.com, a site devoted to law enforcement topics. The suit says Domelights.com, which bills itself as "the voice of the good guys," was founded by a Philadelphia police sergeant who uses the screen name "McQ" and "encourages the racially offensive conduct."

The association also sued McQ and the 10-year-old Web site, which is a forum where officers discuss crime news, police gossip, current events and other topics, often in profane and humorous rants. The group's attorney, Brian Mildenberg, said that black officers had long reviled the site and that complaints had been been lodged with current and past police administrations to no avail.

Even the word domelights, which normally refers to the police lights on top of cruisers, has taken on an "insulting connotation" among black officers, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit cites several posts, including one showing slain white officers next to black suspects and the headline "Guns Don't Kill People, Dangerous Minorities Do." Mildenberg said white officers post and moderate the forums while on duty and on department computers, creating "a racially hostile environment."

"It's the same thing as you can't hang racist material in the workplace," he said.
The lawsuit does not identify McQ, but his Domelights profile contains the name Fred McQuiggan. In 2004, McQuiggan wrote a letter to the editor published in The Inquirer that included his Domelights e-mail address. Lt. Frank Vanore, a police spokesman, confirmed that McQuiggan was on active duty and worked at Police Headquarters but said he did not know whether McQuiggan was involved with Domelights. Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

There is freedom of speech, but shouldn't law enforcement policy stipulate that its members should avoid engaging in racially offensive speech or conduct in the public? I know that someone can post a derogatory comment on the forum under a nickname, but shouldn't there be some limits? Why hasn't this police officer been disciplined for this website, if it has been proven that it belongs to him? I would never tolerate racial comments on my blog from anyone. I block their IP and email addresses so that they cannot comment.

The class-action suit was filed on behalf of 2,300 black Philadelphia police officers and asks the court to order the Police Department to ban officers from operating Domelights or posting racially insensitive material. It seeks an unspecified amount for damages. The Philadelphia NAACP and the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers have also joined the civic league as plaintiffs.

Read the lawsuit (PDF) Warning: Contents are offensive