This Black Cop That Wrote A Racist Letter To Himself Needs A Lesson In How Racism Works In 2015

NBC- A former cop who claimed that someone left a racist memo on department letterhead in his mailbox at a Connecticut police department earlier this year has admitted to penning the letter himself, authorities say.Clive Higgins was charged with filing a false report after he claimed he found a letter with the heading "WHITE POWER" across the top of the page on Feb. 9. The letter went on to say "Officer Clive Higgins doesn't belong here in this Police Department" and "These Black Officers belong in the toilet."

A month before the letter was written, Higgins was acquitted in connection with a 2011 police brutality case in which officers were caught on camera beating a suspect at Beardsley Park and shooting him with a stun gun. Two other officers were convicted, but a federal jury found Higgins not guilty.

State police were called in to investigate and reviewed surveillance from the station, which they said showed Higgins typing and printing documents just before going into the room where he said he found the letter, according to the report.

After investigators presented him with the photographs, Higgins allegedly began rubbing and shaking his head and admitted to typing the letter in the booking room himself and printing it out before calling the Bridgeport Guardians, according to paperwork filed in Superior Court.



​In terms of ethics, a black man writing himself a racist letter in hopes of getting his white co-workers fired is pretty goddamn irresponsible. With that said, given the situation, I am not entirely sure I blame this guy. Three cops involved in a police brutality case. Two of them, who I am assuming were white, get convicted. The one who happens to be black is found not guilty. Not only that, but according to his racist note to himself, he threw himself at the mercy of the court, and in doing so basically tossed his fellow officers right under an oncoming bus. Now, I wasn't there when they were tazing bros in the park so I don't know if the right decision was made. I do know that when a cop turns his back on other cops he generally loses the respect of the rest of the department. This guy was bound to be outcasted, and it may not have been predicated on his race, but he was undoubtedly going to be facing an uncomfortable work environment. The only way to change the way he was perceived in his office was to make himself the victim, and nothing gets more sympathy than facing discrimination. So, no, I don't have as much of a problem with what this guy did as I should, but I do have a major problem with his execution. 

You know how I know that this guy hasn't dealt with all that much racism recently? Because this note reads like something that would be written during the civil rights era. Sure, racism is still huge problem facing society, and more specifically the police force, but it's much harder to detect than it used to be. Black people aren't forced to sit in the back of buses, or sip at their own water fountain anymore. 2015 isn't a Klan rally, people aren't running around yelling "white power!". It's blantantly obvious that this note was written by someone that doesn't even understand modern racism. White people aren't a minority. We don't refer to ourselves as "us white people". I don't give a shit about white people I don't know. That's the difference between being a part of the majority and being a part the minority. I don't need the support of everyone that shares my skin color. 

Come on Clive (incredible name btw), be better at adding a little subtlety when discriminating against yourself. Say you don't speak eloquently enough. Say that the music you listen to embraces the harassment of caucasian officers. Say that the town you grew up in makes it more likely that you will sympathize with criminals. People don't walk around wearing name tags that say "Hi, My Name Is...Billy The Racist" in this day and age. They just spark up sports conversations where they label Cam Newton a "thug" for doing end zone dances. Why don't you bring your self imposed bigotry into this century dude. "These black officers belong in the toilet"? You work in Connecticut, only in the deep south would it be mildly believable that someone would use that line. The workplace isn't like Facebook, people aren't just going to put their fingers to the keyboard and print out their prejudice. Next time you want to make it look like your co-workers are intolerant than get the help of someone from this generation that knows what it means to be intolerant.

P.S. Also, probably might want to write a letter like this at home. I find it odd that a police officer doesn't realize how many cameras are in a police station.