February 27, 1996,
Tuesday, Final Edition
"It really was offensive as soon as I saw the
faces," said Capt. Preston Blackwell, who is black. "All blacks and
Hispanics in this department should be offended by that." Maj. William N.
Brown also complained to the union in an internal memo last week, demanding a
"retraction and apology" for what he termed the "unflattering
caricature [of] minorities in stereotypical bellhop and room service
roles.""I am personally appalled at the advertisement," wrote
Brown, who is white. " . . . It is insensitive and offensive in today's
environment."Mark Culin, president of the Fairfax County Police
Association, said the union didn't intend to offend anyone. He said that the
advertisement originally was done in color and that the differences in face
shading became more pronounced once they were published in black and white in the
publications.Culin, also a Fairfax officer, said he was "devastated to
hear they were concerned about one of my publications given even the slightest
hint of racial insensitivity."He added: "I don't understand why
[race] is constantly being used to keep the police department on edge and to
keep this racial issue on the front burner. The police department has really
bent over backwards to change things. I don't know what else we can
do."Black officers said they didn't buy Culin's explanation. Lt. Brian Boykin,
president of the Fairfax County Black Law Enforcement Officers Association, had
a copy of the original color ad. It shows the waiter and bellhop with skin
shaded brown, and the dancing couple without shading on their faces."The
pictures are distinctly different. Once you recognize what it is, it kind of
hits you like a stack of bricks," said Boykin, president of the black
police union. "It makes you feel very angry. It makes you feel like, as a
race of people, you're being poked fun at."Fairfax Police Chief M. Douglas
Scott said yesterday that he had talked with Culin and that he was satisfied
that there was no "intention" to offend minority officers.Added
Scott: "In today's society, we need to be more aware of issues like this
that can be construed as insensitive, and we need to have almost a watchdog
effort.""Quite frankly," Scott said, "if I ever came across
a situation like that within the organization where I thought it was the intent
of somebody, or that somebody was trying to cast that sort of light, my action
would be swift and harsh in dealing with it."