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| Cheryl Dorsey |
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| Yulanda Williams |
By Sikivu Hutchinson
“The department is meant to tear a police officer down
in the academy and then recreate that officer in the image the police
department likes. A subtle form of
brainwashing occurs for some.” Cheryl Dorsey, Black and Blue: The Creation of a Manifesto
In the national debate about and outrage over police
misconduct, excessive force and accountability, retired Los Angeles Police
Department sergeant Cheryl
Dorsey and San Francisco Police Department lieutenant Yulanda
Williams are on the frontlines pushing back against
institutional injustice within their ranks.
As African American women officers in predominantly white, predominantly
male departments, they have weathered sexism, racism, and job discrimination in
their most pernicious forms. Dorsey
joined the LAPD in 1980 and quickly became disgruntled with the barriers to
advancement as well as the rampant violence directed toward African American
and communities of color. Yulanda Williams
joined the SFPD after surviving
the 1978
massacre of Peoples Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana. In
2016, Williams was the only officer of color to testify
against the SFPD’s culture of racism and sexism on a Blue Ribbon Panel on
police misconduct. Dorsey and Williams discussed the challenges of “police
reform”, the explicit and implicit bias of over-militarized police departments in
the aftermath of Stephon Clark’s killing
by Sacramento Police, and the contradictions of recruiting
more officers of color for a police regime which has a slave catcher
lineage.
Let’s talk a
little bit about your careers. What inspired you to go into law
enforcement as African American women?
Cheryl
Dorsey: I joined the
LAPD because I wanted benefits and stability. I came in with the consent
decree. I was expedited in the hiring process.
I realized that the LAPD offered more opportunity than the DOJ, my
previous employer, however, there were certain positions that were unavailable
to me as a Black woman. Coveted administrative staff jobs in research and
auditing were unavailable. Those were
the most sought after vis-à-vis getting promoted to sergeant or
lieutenant. They would fabricate reasons
for why you couldn’t get them (you didn’t have enough time on the job or needed
to be on patrol).
Yulanda Williams: Let me first
insert this disclaimer, my responses are based on my own personal experiences
as a Black female in law enforcement. I
am not speaking for my department.
Initially, I applied for a position with the San Francisco Sheriff’s
Department but I scored higher on the SFPD position. Although I accepted the
position with the SFPD, I was determined to remain an individual based on my experience
surviving Jonestown. Throughout my career, I have been known as one of a select
group of officers who are not afraid to challenge, speak up about, and document
injustices and disparate treatment. These experiences have led me believe that
some officers sense there is an urgency to deprogram Black officers; especially
if there are questions regarding their loyalty or commitment to “Blue”. After the commencement of the Black Lives
Movement, I was questioned about my commitment by several officers. Some asked, “Are you loyal to the Blue or
Black?” “Are you down with Blue Lives Matter or Black Lives Matter?” These
questions focused on loyalty to your culture or your job are not unfamiliar to
Black officers I haven’t heard other ethnicities or protected classes complain
about having these types of antagonistic interactions.
What were
some of the biggest barriers for Black women in your respective
departments?
Cheryl
Dorsey: From the very beginning, barriers to promotion had
been in place. I was not being groomed
as a patrol officer to become a sergeant. Eventually, I promoted to training
officer after nine years and sergeant with fourteen years of patrol experience
gaining the respect of my peers. Generally, Patrol officers only respect patrol
officers. White girls would get groomed
and promote very quickly. Once you
promote to sergeant you have to go back to patrol. Part of what I do now in speaking out is to
try and prepare folks going in to the force to know what really goes down. It
would have been nice to have a mentor or ally.
(The story of Christopher Dorner and his situation is not unusual when
Black officers find themselves in disciplinary hearings). There was a lot of hazing in the department when I worked in the
Central Traffic division. When the watch commander called the car assignment I
shared with another female officer, we were referred to as the “Tuna clipper”.
Supervision condoned that kind of harassment.
Yulanda
Williams: As a newly hired, young Black female officer I was
selected to serve as an undercover officer. I was assigned to work the street
buy bust operations in various districts (I pretended to be an addicted person
attempting to score drugs on the streets with another officer monitoring my
activity). It was uncommon for Black women to work in the Narcotics Division as
an investigator or as a detail assignment. Finally, after fifteen years of
service with my agency, I decided to take the Sergeant Promotional Examination.
When the results were documented on the Promotional Eligibility List co-workers
questioned my ability to obtain such a high overall score. They attempted to
marginalize my accomplishment and smear my reputation, claiming that I must
have cheated. Why is it so questionable
when a Black person achieves success? It reflects the institutional racism and
bias in the public and private sector and in law enforcement. Nonetheless, I
was advised that my experiences didn’t rise to the level of warranting an EEO
investigation. You can only handle so many disappointments with city units
mandated by federal law until you just walk away discouraged by the process and
lack of follow through.
Yulanda you were
initially recruited by the Black Officers for Justice organization which
won a discrimination lawsuit against the SFPD in 1973. You then took on
the SFPD and the police union over racial and gender discrimination,
including a series of racist text messages that smeared you personally as a “n”
and a “b”. You were the only
officer of color to testify on a Blue Ribbon panel on police
misconduct. What kind of backlash
did that lead to? What has been the outcome of the panel and the DOJ’s
findings of implicit and institutional discrimination in the SFPD?
Yulanda
Williams: I stood alone in speaking out and resisting. None of
my co-workers who were called out challenged the mistreatment they experienced
as a result of the text messages; but they were quick to reap the benefits of
my actions. As a result of my testimonies while serving as the President of the
Officers For Justice, there have been more women and people of color promoted
to higher ranks. That said, there are still folks of color who work in various
city departments who contact me sharing their stories of impartial, unfair
treatment. As a result of the continued bullying, disrespect, and attempts to
defame my character by the San Francisco Police Officers Association, I made a
personal conscience choice to withdraw my membership with the union. I had to
find an alternate source for legal representation. The San Francisco Police
Officers Association frequently made disparaging derogatory comments about
communities of color. Regrettably, this
is the tenor of the leadership of most police unions nationwide. Whenever you’re
a candid person you are not favored. Oftentimes, as Black officers, those of us
who have the courage and character to speak out are not necessarily leading a
unit or division. It is difficult when one determines that you are your own
person and you must be true to yourself.
Cheryl
Dorsey: The Ombudsman was supposed to be the safe place (but
this was not the case). There was no
place to go to report mistreatment or harassment. You could be reassigned if you spoke out or
challenged the PD. In the LAPD, this is
known as “freeway therapy”.
Cheryl, your
book Black and Blue: The Creation of
a Manifesto, documents and challenges the oppressive race/gender
politics in the LAPD. What has been
the national response to your assessment about police corruption and
particularly the complicity of police unions in propping up white
supremacy, sexism and homophobia in PDs?
Cheryl
Dorsey: My autobiography has been well received and has
opened up opportunities for me to speak my truth to power. As a result, I am a
much sought after police expert speaking on events making national headlines on
networks such as CNN, Fox News, HLN, CNN and MSNBC.
Cheryl, in a
recent article on police whistleblowers you write, “If citizens really
want to urge ‘good officers’ to report police misconduct, they must help
create safe zones for officers who report wrongdoing, protect ‘good cops’
from rogue administrators and demand real whistleblower protections that
extend beyond the academic.”
Cheryl
Dorsey: Whistleblower protection laws are not a real
thing. Chiefs have total autonomy and
there is no outside protection. You have
to decide what’s important. It has been my experience that if a black officer
desires promotion; one must be quiet, pliable, seen but not heard.What drew me to the LAPD was the fact that a lifetime
service pension was attainable after twenty years. I remained focused, kept my eye on the prize,
and I am currently in my 18th year of retirement. However, I nearly
became a statistic two-years prior to retirement eligibility. The sheriff’s
department which had jurisdiction where I resided notified the LAPD of domestic
conflict at my home involving my husband, who was also an LAPD officer at the
time. LAPD initiated a personnel complaint against husband charging domestic
abuse. The LAPD charged me with
violation of misconduct because I “caused the response of an outside
agency.” I was investigated by Internal
Affairs and ordered to a Board of Rights.
I sought the assistance of a black command staff officer for whom I had
previously worked to speak as a character reference, but he refused. The white
male chairman who was a deputy chief on the LAPD at the conclusion of my Board
of Rights decided to give me “mercy”. My job was spared and I was suspended for
five days without pay. I was trying to get the attention of news agencies but
the PD barred me from allowing anybody to cover my issues.
6. Shortly
after the police murder of Stephon Clark in Sacramento, California legislators
proposed a new
bill
(which has also been championed by the ACLU) that would limit the use of deadly
force by police. California police kill
more people than anywhere in the nation.
California has some of the highest rates of officer involved shootings,
with Los Angeles leading
the pack. What are your views on this bill and its prospects for reducing
police violence?
Cheryl
Dorsey: I find little
comfort in this bill. It is nothing more than semantics. Interpretation is
still left to the officer's discretion. The problem remains in that great
deference is given to a police officer's version of events and it is impossible
to argue what is purported to be "in someone's head" ie. fear,
danger, etc. Personal financial officer accountability much like the Baltimore
City Solicitor enacted into their policy when civil suits arise from (injury)
deadly force would be a great next step.
7. What
are your views on reform strategies like community policing and
de-escalation? Do they actually work and
are they beneficial for communities of color who are under siege with high
rates of police violence and police murder?
Cheryl
Dorsey: The system does what it was supposed to do. Police
chiefs have great autonomy. The
president of the National Association of Police Chiefs recently apologized to
communities of color without articulating what changes if any would be
implemented to address policy substantive change and officer
accountability. If police chiefs don’t
see anything wrong with what their rank and file is doing then you’re not going
to have change. It is my belief that
some police departments are corrupt and it’s top and down. Police chiefs seem
obligated to protect that organism because that is where their loyalties
lie. They want you to not get on these
jobs and make it easy for you to be eliminated.
If you understand that the system is corrupt you need to bring your head
game. I don’t believe that everyone gets
indoctrinated. Infiltrate the system and
promote and you don’t have to sacrifice to do that. Changes on any department will come from
within. The best way to change a system is to become a part of that system. I
suggest young people join the police departments where they live and become a
part of the resolution. Don’t wait for them to do better. Stop expecting that
they will treat us right. Just like the KKK has infiltrated the ranks of police
departments around the nation as evidenced by an FBI report - black folks need
to do the same. For more on my advocacy visit www.sgtcheryldorsey.com
Yulanda
Williams: Reform efforts are receiving national pushback. Change
is not easy. It is difficult and virtually impossible to reform police agencies
without addressing internal problems such as racism, sexism, white supremacy,
privilege, cronyism, and nepotism. Some pose this question, “how can you clean
up someone else’s house if your own house is still dirty?” The only way to
change is if we have more people of color and greater diversity to challenge
the hierarchical culture of police departments across the U.S. I am a member of the Barbershop Forum where
we visit institutions and talk to young people to develop more trusting
relationships with the community. Many of our people are criminalized at birth,
and my approach is to respond to our communities in a meaningful, culturally
sensitive way. My legacy is going to be as a woman who stood up for justice.
You can’t buy me. We have a responsibility as officers of color not to allow
ourselves to be bought by any particular group or system. Our integrity is our
most precious commodity.
Sikivu Hutchinson is the author of the novel White Nights, Black Paradise and Moral Combat: Black Atheists, Gender Politics, and the Values Wars. Her new speculative fiction-sci fi play NARCOLEPSY, INC. debuts at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in June.
