Racist Columbus Police Officer Spew Hate Online To Point Of Absurdity; Mayor Responds

I'm coming to this late, but the Columbus Dispatch broke a story this morning about a Columbus Police Officer (and sister) that have produced a plethora of videos on youtube account spewing racist propaganda. In all actuality, it's some of the worst stereotypes and hate speech that I've heard in a long time.

The videos were created and distributed on the Internet by Officer Susan L. Purtee, 60, and her sister, Barbara Gordon-Bell, 52, who call themselves "The Patriot Dames" and the "Subie Sisters." Together on the videos, they blame Jews, blacks, illegal immigrants and Cubans for a variety of the nation's ills. When asked about doing the videos, Gordon-Bell said, "We've had a lot of fun with it. I don't see that we've ever harmed anybody."

Surely, what could be so bad videos where these gals use a little bit of free speech? Well, here are just a handful of quotes from one video I listened to:

"What we're going to talk about today is extremely controversial
Just say it, it's the jews, it's the jews, they're a problem...
We're going to investigate to see if the jews the problem in the United States as they have been problems in other countries...
...And I would like to start it out, Joseph McCartney was the greatest man living in the 20th century..."

Hmmmm.... Well, it's not like they're bringing up Hitler or anything. Oh wait....

"jews corrupt...they're not liked...when Hitler tried to get rid of them nobody else wanted them..."
"Mel Gibson was right"

Here's the video, the whole thing is so grotesque that it almost seems farcical.

Free speech is an important quality in a society to protect. Even in the face of this crap, I think these sisters should be entitled to say about half of the stuff they mention in these videos (and I only say about half because some of their statements come very close to the realm of hate speech, advocating harm against a group or class). However, I don't think this police officer is entitled to say whatever she wants, and maintain her position in the Columbus City Police Department.

As an officer of the public, she's bound to represent the city and maintain the trust of those she services. After watching one of her videos, I don't have an ounce of trust in her abilities to perform her job faithfully. And I'm sure some African Americans, Jews, and folks of immigrant descent would feel the same way. Apparently Mayor Coleman agrees with me:

Today, I viewed the internet video clips of Columbus Police Officer Susan L. Purtee, and instruct the Department of Public Safety and Division of Police to engage in an immediate disciplinary investigation. I am personally offended by her racist and anti-Semitic comments, and I believe our citizens should be equally offended. As Mayor, I am highly concerned that this unacceptable conduct will reflect negatively on the entire Division and the City of Columbus. Clearly, Officer Purtee is not representative of our Division’s many great Officers. While we respect the right of free speech, we also demand that every Officer meets the highest standard of conduct on and off the job. In my opinion, Officer Purtee’s conduct falls far below this City’s expectations.

Few positions in American society entail and demand more implicit trust and respect than serving the public as a Police Officer. The Columbus Division of Police is among the nation’s best, and each officer takes an oath to protect the lives and rights of all citizens. In recent years, the City and Division worked hard to address Department of Justice and citizen complaints of discrimination, by implementing new diversity training, higher standards, video cameras in patrol cars, increased minority recruiting, and other initiatives to increase accountability and sensitivity of Officers interacting with residents. These actions and strong neighborhood policing efforts with Community Liaison Officers have helped rebuild bridges of trust with our city’s many diverse residents, and the conduct of Officer Purtee threatens that progress.

Our Division is held to a high standard, based on a long history of excellence, service and respect. After viewing the video, I ask that you review whether this behavior represents conduct unbecoming an Officer pursuant to Police directives. Officer Purtee’s conduct should not tarnish the badge of every one of our more than 1,800 Officers if not dealt with immediately.

Sincerely,
Michael B. Coleman
Mayor

I hope "dealt with immediately" means shitcanned. But hey, on the upside, I'm sure these ladies anti-immigrant perspective would be welcomed with open arms throughout the Republican blogosphere.