Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
For The Birmingham Times
Itâs uncommon to find five female captains serving in one police department, like Birmingham Police Department, said Lynda R. Williams, who knows a thing or two about law enforcement.Â
Williams is a retired deputy assistant director of the U.S. Secret Service and a criminal justice administration professor at her alma mater Middle Tennessee State University.
âEvery time we do something (with) statistical data, we see (female promotions to command positions) more often but it’s still a great challenge,â said Williams. âI think some of it has changed, just the culture that we’re in. It’s not as great an anomaly as it once was but to have five women in command in Birmingham, yeah, that’s still a major event.â
The FBI has a long history of fulfilling the function of white supremacy in the United States. While the Tulsa Massacre was ongoing, the FBI’s predecessor was busy investigating Marcus Garvey and his Universal Negro Improvement Association. The FBI’s first director, J Edgar Hoover, waged war on the civil rights movement from its onset. The war was ramped up in the age of Cointelpro, an FBI program designed to surveil, dismantle and destroy any movement working to end racism or capitalist exploitation in the United States. The FBI occasionally investigated white supremacists during this era (1956 to 1971),but spent the vast majority of its resources fighting those committed to Black and Indigenous liberation. And many of the bureau’s investigations of white supremacists were disingenuous; the FBI knew for a fact that the Birmingham police Department had been infiltrated by the KKK, for example, but continued to feed the department information about civil rights activists. During
Police leaders vow to root out extremist beliefs
Kimberly Kindy, Mark Berman and Kim Bellware, The Washington Post
Jan. 24, 2021
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1of6A Capitol Police officer passes by damage at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 7.Photo for The Washington Post by Amanda Andrade-RhoadesShow MoreShow Less
2of6Protesters clash with police during the tally of electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2021.Photo for The Washington Post by Amanda Andrade-RhoadesShow MoreShow Less
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4of6Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo speaks to the media before George Floyd s funeral on June 9, 2020.Photo for The Washington Post by Tamir KalifaShow MoreShow Less
5of6Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo speaks to the media before George Floyd s funeral on June 9, 2020.Photo for The Washington Post by Tamir KalifaShow MoreShow Less
Grosse Pointe Park getting outside help in search for new public safety director
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GROSSE POINTE PARK Later this month, Grosse Pointe Park Public Safety Director Stephen Poloni will be leaving that position to become the city manager of Grosse Pointe Shores. That means Park officials need to look for his replacement.
City Manager Nick Sizeland said the Park will be engaging the services of Empco Inc. which specializes in testing and consulting for public safety officers to help in the search for the next director. During a Dec. 21 Park City Council meeting on Zoom, Sizeland said the city will also be working with other outside agencies, including the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, in an effort to find the best candidate to lead the department.