A small town is disbanding its entire police department after its assistant police chief sent a racist joke about slavery to other officers.
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The residents of Vincent were disgusted by Assistant Chief John L. Goss’ actions after learning about the message he sent to his fellow officers. In the message, Goss referred to a pregnant slave as a ‘buy one, get one deal, and residents said they were “embarrassed” by the racist behavior. Additionally, they compared Goss’s actions to ‘going back to the 1930s and 40s.
‘To me that was a punch in the gut. Like going back to the 1930′s and 40′s, I often forget that we are still not there. It hurt. I was hurt and embarrassed because I thought we were better than that,’
resident Lois Garrett told WBRC.
As reported by the Daily Mail, Goss and Police Chief James Srygley were dismissed from their positions, and one other officer resigned from the three-person department on Thursday evening. News of the racist text message went viral after Garrett posted a copy of the text messages on her Facebook page, but it is unclear when it was sent or how she obtained the text messages.
BREAKING: The City Council in Vincent, Alabama votes to fire its police chief and assistant chief and to disband the three-person police department after the assistant chief allegedly sent a vile racist tweet about pregnant slaves. RT IF YOU SUPPORT FIRING RACIST COPS!
— Occupy Democrats (@OccupyDemocrats) August 5, 2022
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The Shelby County Sheriff’s Officer said they condemned the officers’ actions and planned to help provide the city with emergency law enforcement. In a statement, Vincent Mayor James Latimore said that “appropriate action was taken: against the officer who sent the offensive text message.
Vincent, Alabama has disbanded its small police department after racist texts surfaced on social media. An officer’s text said ‘what do you call a pregnant slave?’ ‘BOGO, but one get one free.’ Good the City Council took action. Other places should take note, don’t you think?
— Don Lewis (@DonLew87) August 7, 2022
Another racist cop caught acting out and expressing her hatred Remember her face if you live in Vincent Alabama. pic.twitter.com/vkOka221lC
— Musiccues (@musiccues1) August 5, 2022
City leaders said they plan to assign a full-time deputy to patrol the community, although some residents have opposed the idea due to nepotism.
“People tend to care more if they know you, and that’s one of the things that concerning to the people in this area,” Franklin said. “We would like to have our own officers that we know that care about our town and not just the job because they work for the county,” explained resident Robert Franklin.
An investigation is underway to discover who sent the text message despite the police department’s complete disbandment.