Bridgeport Police Chief Joe Gaudett launched an Internal Affairs investigation earlier this week after racially charged letters were discovered on several officers’ cars.
An officer reported he found the letter on the windshield of his personal car in a police parking lot on Sunday morning. Officers searched the lot and found about 8 of the letters, including some on police vehicles.
A Connecticut State Police investigation into another racist letter discovered back in February is still ongoing and that is part of the reason Bridgeport Police Union President Charles Paris is so upset by this new one.
"It would be inviting to find out what the results were of the first letter, that would be helpful," Paris told NBC Connecticut.
The new letter ends with “Next to go: All members of the Bridgeport Guardians,” which is a reference to a minority officers’ organization.
"My reaction was the same as the first letter,” Paris said, “it is very disappointing. It is deplorable as far as we're concerned."
Just like the racist memo from February, this new one targeting African American police officers is typed on city letterhead and it includes the phrase coined by the Ku Klu Klan, “White Power.”
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“I am disgusted that someone would make such a hateful statement and falsify my signature to the document,” Assistant Chief James Nardozzi said in a statement, responding to the use of his name on the memo.
The letter only hurts a force with its morale at an all-time low, Paris said.
"Our officers’ names have been spread across the country saying that we're a racist department, which is the farthest from the truth,” he said. “We need our names to be cleared."
“The Bridgeport Police Department has one of the most diverse police departments in the state,” Police Chief Gaudett said. “That diversity is a great strength for our department. Any allegation of racial discrimination that seeks to divide our police department or our community will not be tolerated. If the investigation turns up any wrongdoing, swift, fair, just and immediate action will be taken against those guilty of wrongdoing.”
