Benjamin Jealous, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder asking the Department of Justice to conduct a thorough investigation into the pattern and practices of the Erie Police Department in Erie, Pennsylvania. Jealous has also asked for the resignation of an Erie police officer whose drunken joke about a homicide victim was caught on YouTube.
James Cousins II, 40, has been suspended with pay for making fun of Rondale Jennings, Sr.’s, 31, twitching body after the man was found dead with a fatal gunshot wound to the head and landed below a sign that reads, “Take it to the head,” according to the Associated Press.
“The residents of Erie Pennsylvania and the entire U.S. deserve to have a police force that protects them and is respectful in the process. The time is long overdue for states to be smart on crime, to screen, train and evaluate officers on a regular basis and maintain the integrity of our law enforcement agencies,” said Jealous in a statement to the press. “The disturbing actions of Patrolman James Cousins II and the Chief Of Police’s failure to respond appropriately to the misconduct could be part of a systemic problem with the Erie Police Department.”–WLW