County Police Chief Resigns, Lawsuit Claims Racial Slurs Used

GREENBELT, MD — The same day that filings as part of a lawsuit against the Prince George's County Police Department claimed a pattern of discrimination and retaliation against Black and Latinx officers, the agency's chief resigned effective immediately. Police Chief Hank Stawinski resigned Thursday, effective immediately; County Executive Angela Alsobrooks accepted his resignation.

WTOP reports Alsobrooks will hold a press conference at noon Friday.

A report written as part of a 2018 lawsuit filed by 13 Black and Brown officers against Prince George's County said the police department has for years tolerated racist conduct, including the use of racial epithets or offensive imagery, with few repercussions. The ACLU of Maryland and the Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association have filed suit against the county, and released the report.

"The expert report finds that there is an an intentional system of retaliation retaliation for black and brown officers who speak out on the Prince George’s Police Department," the ACLU tweeted Thursday.

Stawinski's resignation came an hour before the Prince George’s County chapter of the NAACP planned a no-confidence vote, the ACLU said.

The report prepared by a former senior officer with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office shows:

• 24 instances of white officers engaging in racist conduct
• No officers disciplined for racial profiling or after complaints
• Officers of color more likely to be terminated
• 16 officers of color retaliated against for complaining about conduct of white officers

Lt. Sonya Zollicoffer, second vice president of the United Black Police Officers Association, called for White officers to speak up.

“At one point I was honored to wear the uniform because I represented my community. But because I spoke up for others who were afraid to speak up, the department retaliated against me and kept me from working," Zollicoffer said in the report. "When I worked in Internal Affairs, I saw that Black officers with minor infractions were disciplined more harshly than white officers with serious offenses. The community doesn’t trust us because there’s never been transparency. I’m concerned about the point between the blue line and the blue lie. We need the blue truth.”

The lawsuit by a group of officers includes sworn statements from several officers of color attesting to the ingrained pattern of race discrimination, retaliation, and abuse that permeates the county police department. (See the 129-page court filing here.)

Retired Cpt. Joe Perez, president of the Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association, said: “This fact-finding report only reaffirms what many of us have personally witnessed and experienced and continue to suffer from at the hands of Chief Stawinski. .... If you think this does not affect your life, take a minute to read about what happens to community concerns and citizen complaints. Spoiler alert: nothing. No investigation is conducted. No thought is given to the mistreatment of the citizens of Prince George's County.”

Stawinski, who is White, is accused of allowing extensive discrimination against officers of color and two police-involved deaths of Black residents saw criminal charges filed against one officer.

While county officials have said the offenses have been taken seriously, Lt. Thomas Boone, president of the United Black Police Officers Association, said: “Chief Stawinski is the face of police reform like a slave master is the face of freedom.”

Highlights from the report include:

• Details on over two dozen instances where white county police officers engaged in racist conduct, including use of racial epithets and other derogatory language or circulated offensive imagery. Most of the perpetrating officers received no or minimal discipline.
• The report describes five instances where the police department received complaints from prominent civic leaders about racist behavior by white officers. None of these officers were disciplined.
• The report analyzes the department’s response to racial profiling complaints. No PGPD officer has been disciplined for racial profiling.
• An analysis of the department’s investigative and disciplinary statistics shows that officers of color are significantly more likely to have internal disciplinary charges sustained against them as white officers and are several times as likely to be terminated.
• The report describes 16 officers of color who experienced retaliation — either the institution of charges or involuntary transfers — many after complaining about the conduct of white officers.

Read the lawsuit's response to a county request for a delay in proceedings.

“Given the pandemic of police terror happening across the nation, the fact that Black and Brown officers also face retaliation by white leadership in a majority Black county for raising concern about police misconduct against community members speaks to how deep and destructive white supremacy is within law enforcement,” said Deborah Jeon, Legal Director of the ACLU of Maryland, in a news release.

The Prince George's County Police Department is the fourth largest law enforcement agency in the State of Maryland. More than 1,500 police officers and 300 civilians provide a full range of law enforcement services to nearly 900,000 residents and business owners. Prince George's County Police Department is proud to provide service to a diverse demographic and geographic area.