The Green Bay police chief says two officers have resigned and six others are being investigated amid allegations of harassment and inappropriate remarks at work.
Chief Andrew Smith said the allegations involve a small group of officers “who together created a hostile work environment.” The Green Bay Press-Gazette reports Smith disclosed the issue in January to the city’s Police and Fire Commission. He told officials it involved the department’s night shift and that the investigation began after an employee raised concerns in December.
The two officers who resigned had been on administrative leave since mid-December, when complaints made it to Smith’s desk.
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Smith said at a news conference Friday that an investigation is still ongoing and may take months to complete, and that the police department has no room for people who harass others.
“My standard for racial comments is zero,” Smith said. “My standard is there will be no racial comments here at the Green Bay Police Department. No ‘jokes,’ no ‘funny expressions.’ Nothing derogatory. The standard is zero.”
The comments were confined to the department, Smith said, and there’s no evidence that the public was discriminated against.
To ensure there were no inappropriate public interactions, “we are in the process of going through their arrest cases to see if there is any evidence of bias,” he said.
Smith did not elaborate on the content of the inappropriate remarks, but says some were “racial in nature.” He didn’t say who was specifically targeted by the comments, but that one officer was derided for being on leave for a work-related injury.
There are 187 members of the Green Bay Police Department; four are black, three are Hispanic, one is Asian, and about 30 are female, Smith said.
The names of officers involved were not disclosed.
Smith said the department will “work with the district attorney.”
Editor’s Note: This story was last updated at 5:16 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, to include original reporting from WPR.
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