Remove Joel Herzog from the West Chester Police Department.
Remove Joel Herzog from the West Chester Police Department.
The Issue
West Chester Police Chief Joel Herzog has a history of making racist and sexist remarks. Since 2018, two West Chester Police Captains have filed complaints against Joel Herzog, and one resigned. Recently, four police officers made complaints against their chief.
A 54-page report by Douglas Duckett, a private attorney hired by the township’s law firm at the request of township trustees detailed alleged racist and sexist remarks in addition to accusations of cronyism and retaliation. Herzog himself admitted that he made inappropriate comments about the attractiveness of women and race in the report.
A Fox19 investigative article sited, “The Captains reported that “The Chief admits he calls Middle Eastern and Asian citizens ‘dots’ and ‘terrorists.’ The Chief admits he calls black people with whom the department interacts ‘Number 2s.’ But according to the report that is just ‘lingo’ and excusable because of context. The Captains did not think so, and they are right... Referring to a Latino officer as ‘Brown Mike’ is not just a ‘joking reference,’ because referring to an officer by his race instead of his name is not funny.”
Despite all of this, the report states "there is no basis for disciplinary action" and does not recommend firing Herzog. The report instead recommends a performance improvement plan specifying that any inappropriate and potentially discriminatory remark in the future is unacceptable.
One Captain has already quit and others in the department fear retaliation for stepping up. Chief Joel Herzog has bred an environment of retaliation, among other things, that must be met with his removal from office as to not set a precedent for incoming officers in the department.
We demand that Chief Herzog be removed from office now.
(This petition includes paraphrasing from Cincinnati.com and Fox 19) https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2020/07/09/naacp-cair-ohio-call-independent-investigation-into-west-chester-township-police-chief/5408653002/
The Issue
West Chester Police Chief Joel Herzog has a history of making racist and sexist remarks. Since 2018, two West Chester Police Captains have filed complaints against Joel Herzog, and one resigned. Recently, four police officers made complaints against their chief.
A 54-page report by Douglas Duckett, a private attorney hired by the township’s law firm at the request of township trustees detailed alleged racist and sexist remarks in addition to accusations of cronyism and retaliation. Herzog himself admitted that he made inappropriate comments about the attractiveness of women and race in the report.
A Fox19 investigative article sited, “The Captains reported that “The Chief admits he calls Middle Eastern and Asian citizens ‘dots’ and ‘terrorists.’ The Chief admits he calls black people with whom the department interacts ‘Number 2s.’ But according to the report that is just ‘lingo’ and excusable because of context. The Captains did not think so, and they are right... Referring to a Latino officer as ‘Brown Mike’ is not just a ‘joking reference,’ because referring to an officer by his race instead of his name is not funny.”
Despite all of this, the report states "there is no basis for disciplinary action" and does not recommend firing Herzog. The report instead recommends a performance improvement plan specifying that any inappropriate and potentially discriminatory remark in the future is unacceptable.
One Captain has already quit and others in the department fear retaliation for stepping up. Chief Joel Herzog has bred an environment of retaliation, among other things, that must be met with his removal from office as to not set a precedent for incoming officers in the department.
We demand that Chief Herzog be removed from office now.
(This petition includes paraphrasing from Cincinnati.com and Fox 19) https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2020/07/09/naacp-cair-ohio-call-independent-investigation-into-west-chester-township-police-chief/5408653002/
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Petition created on July 18, 2020