By Elaine Magliaro

David Edwards (Raw Story) has reported that the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department “revealed this week that five deputies were under investigation for allegedly sending racist text messages while on duty.” In a statement that was released on Tuesday, Sheriff Phil Plummer stated that two of five deputies–Sheriff’s Capt. Thomas J. Flanders and Detective Michael J. Sollenberger–had been placed on indefinite paid administrative leave starting on Dec. 1st. The two men were put on leave following a complaint “accusing them and three other deputies of exchanging racially insensitive text messages.” WDTN said that a sergeant at the dispatch center and two court security employees who were also involved are still on the job.

The racist messages, which were exchanged between November 2011 and January 2013, “came to light after Dayton Unit NAACP President Derrick Forward told deputies he received a complaint about the messages.” Forward said, “These text messages, while some of them may be some joking going on back and forth, some of them are flat out rude and racist.”

Sheriff Phil Plummer said that the messages “had racial overtones and were considered inappropriate.” He described the texts as “very disturbing racial text messages” He noted that the “N-word was used several times as well as other racial slurs and jokes.”

Plummer said that the five individuals involved in the probe had “taken this organization three steps backward and will be held accountable.” He added, “I will not tolerate racism in this department.”

Documents obtained by ABC 22/FOX 45 showed that “the time stamps of the texts between employees were during working hours.”

ABC 22 reported that one of the text messages sent by one deputy reads in part, “What do apples and black people have in common? They both hang from trees.”

ABC 22:

The text messages…show the use of derogatory words, calling African-Americans the “N” word.

Another text went on to say, “I hate N*****. That is all.”

ABC 22/FOX 45 has hundreds of pages of text messages back and forth. Most of the messages depict words meant to specifically demean African Americans. Another reads, “Very simply put, they’re N*****, son.”

And, yet another: “We stopped at a Walmart in Birmingham, there are a lot of Black people in Alabama. It’s all Martin Luther Kings fault.”

ABC 22 reported that it had spoken with Derrick Forward. Forward said that he hoped that this was not indicative of “a culture that exists inside the department.” Forward added, “Over the years we have had a great relationship with the Sheriff’s department and we don’t look for that to change.”

SOURCES

‘I hate n*ggers. That is all’: 5 Ohio deputies probed for years of racist text messages (Raw Story)

5 Ohio Deputies Investigated Over Racial Texts (ABC News/AP)

Labor lawyer: Texts could jeopardize deputies’ jobs–5 deputies accused of sending racially insensitive text messages (Dayton Daily News)

5 Ohio Sheriff’s Deputies Under Investigation for Racist Texts: Deputies from Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department sent hundreds of text messages referring to black people as n–gers and making racist jokes. (The Root)

Deputies accused of racist texts could lose jobs, attorney says (Dayton Daily News)

5 deputies accused of racially charged texts (WDTN)