Cincinnati, OH — Dennis Barnette, a white police officer from Cincinnati who used a racial slur while addressing a Black woman he was trying to arrest, has been suspended from police duties, but not fired. Barnette’s actions are being condemned by several organizations, with some calling for his termination.
“This type of behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated inside the department,” Isaac wrote.
Isaac added that Barnette responded to a call from the nightclub to assist with parking complaints. At that time, he tried to arrest the woman, but she resisted and pushed an officer. During the incident, which was recorded by another officer’s body camera, Barnette could be clearly heard using the racial slur.
Since then, an internal investigation has been launched and Barnette was placed on desk duties while his policing powers have also been suspended.
“I share Chief Isaac’s concerns regarding this matter,” Duhaney told city officials in another email. “It is unacceptable and not in line with the standard of conduct we expect from city employees.”
Yolanda Miller, the mother of the woman who was called the racial slur, is on the executive board of the Cincinnati NAACP.
“He was wrong,” she told WCPO. “He does not deserve to be a police officer in Cincinnati, Ohio, but not only in Cincinnati, anywhere, because if that came out with her, it’s in his heart.”
Miller added that even though her daughter had been facing charges for assaulting an officer, the officer’s behavior was still unnecessary and uncalled for.
Miller, together with the NAACP, is demanding for Barnette to be fired. “The use of a racial slur has no place in society,” the NAACP’s statement says. “The word is hateful, and coming from someone with the authority to use deadly force, is dangerous to those whom he is sworn to serve and protect.”
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