Two officers, Capt. Thomas
Flanders and Detective Michael Sollenberger, have been placed on paid
administrative leave while the other three – who are as yet unnamed – remain on
the job while the investigation continues.
The accusations came to light
after an anonymous source passed on hundreds of pages of the messages to the
Dayton Unit of the NAACP.
Capt. Thomas Flanders, left,
and Detective Michael Sollenberger, right, have been placed on paid
administrative leave from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office in Ohio during
the investigation
The texts, which contain a
barrage of racist slurs and insensitive jokes aimed at African-Americans, were
exchanged between November 2011 and January 2013 on personal cell phones
The texts, which contain a
barrage of racist slurs and insensitive jokes aimed at African-Americans, were
exchanged between November 2011 and January 2013 on personal cell phones
After conducted a
three-month-long investigation to ensure their authenticity, Derrick Forward -
the civil rights organization’s local president - turned the messages over to
Sheriff Phil Plumber last week.
The texts were exchanged
between November 2011 and January 2013 on personal cell phones between the
employees during working hours.
They contain a barrage of
racist slurs and insensitive jokes aimed at African-Americans.
One text said, 'I hate N******.
That is all.'
One deputy 'joked' to another:
'What do apples and black people have in common? They both hang from trees.'
Another read: 'We stopped at a
Walmart in Birmingham, there are a lot of Black people in Alabama. It's all
Martin Luther Kings fault.'
Derrick Forward, the president
of the Dayton Unit of the NAACP, was handed records of the texts by an
anonymous source and he forwarded them to Sheriff Phil Plumber last week
'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,' Foward told WBTN.
He wants the deputies to be
sacked immediately if the sheriff’s investigation finds that they sent the
messages.
Sheriff Plumber said the
deputies had 'tarnished the office' by sending the text messages.
'These five individuals have
taken this organization three steps backward and will be held accountable,' he
said. 'I will not tolerate racism in this department.'
Plummer said his investigation
is in its early stages, but it was important to public safety that both
Flanders and Sollenberger be put on leave.
Two African-American deputies
were mentioned in the texts, he said.
The deputies were in shock they
were caught, 'but did not apologize,' Plummer said.
The two suspended officers have
both been recently promoted.
Flanders was a sergeant at the
time of the text messages and Sollenberger was a detective under Flanders’
supervision.
Flanders had most recently been
working as a jail administrator and Sollenberger in Internal Affairs.
Captain Tom Flanders, who has
been with the office for 19 years, told 2 NEWS that the allegations are
completely false.
He denied being racist and said
he looked forward to clearing his name.
The NAACP is requesting that an
outside agency perform an investigation also.
The NAACP has called for an
outside agency to perform an investigation and for the deputies to be sacked
immediately if they are found responsible
The NAACP has called for an
outside agency to perform an investigation and for the deputies to be sacked
immediately if they are found responsible
