In addition, we found that because the central activity during most Roundups was the consumption of large quantities of Roundup-supplied alcohol, the organizers knowingly sacrificed the ability to control the conduct of participants. We also found substantial credible evidence of racially insensitive conduct in 1985, 1987, 1989, and 1993. Ultimately, the purported eyewitness recanted his claim. These materials were prepared for the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics program in Government Ethics by former Senior Fellow Judy Nadler and former Communications Director Miriam Schulman. #3. (Subsequently, the FBI concluded that Hayward's video taken at the 1990 Roundup was authentic and had not been altered.). The OIG report contains a summary of our findings with respect to these and all other DOJ employees who attended. Unlimited access to beer twenty-four hours a day led to extreme drunkenness. In media interviews, Randall and Hayward stated that they went to the site of the 1995 Roundup with the intention of finding racist conduct to report. In addition, because our evaluation of DOJ employee conduct required the fullest and most accurate reconstruction possible of what had actually occurred at the Roundup, we sought to identify as many attendees of the various Roundups as we could. They are here you know. Buckingham, M. (2011). For the most part, the Roundup attendees, who gathered each year in May at a campground near Ocoee, Tennessee, came from law enforcement agencies in the Southeast part of the United States. We are rapidly heading into 2015. II. On the other hand, simply attending a private, unofficial event at which a few participants engage in racist conduct and at which such behavior is not the purpose of the event should not, in most circumstances, merit punishment for the employee who attends. Moreover, we found Randall's claim to have found the "license" in a Roundup bathroom not to be credible. Brian earned his undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice from California State, Sacramento and has a MS in Organizational Leadership from National University. We are disturbed that an event characterized by rampant public drunkenness, widespread public lewdness, and in later years episodes of racist conduct drew participants from DOJ and other law enforcement organizations. Although Hayward alleged that the tape also contained a racist "comedy" routine and was for sale at the campground, we found no corroboration for these additional claims. Contrary to the media accounts of this incident, the black agents were not turned away from the Roundup. Cronyism occurs within a network of insiders-the "good ol' boys," who confer favors on one another. What are favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism? He also alleged that ATF agents surrounded cars entering the campground and shouted, "Got any niggers in that car?" One of the most basic themes in ethics is fairness, stated this way by Artistotle: "Equals should be treated equally and unequals unequally." "A 'good ole' boy' network refers to an informal system where white men of a similar background use their influence for their mutual benefit (and often to the detriment of those who are not part of the 'good ole' boy' network)." . Nevertheless, we found that, regardless of intent, some minority agents perceived a message that they would not be welcome or considered a "good o' boy," and that indeed they might face racial intolerance and hostility if they attended. The public drunkenness began far earlier and was a reason cited by many DOJ employees and others for not returning to the Roundup. This article is part four of a seven-part series, illuminating light on the seven errors of leadership behaviors. When several months later OIG requested that he submit to an interview on a range of topics including his supposed discovery of a "nigger hunting license" at the 1995 Roundup or the militia plan "Operation Achilles Heel," whose stated goal was to discredit ATF, Randall refused and renewed these threats in more graphic terms. 1. You want to make sure that you have a diverse leadership, the former FBI agent said. Half of the DOJ participants did not go to any Roundups after 1988 -- a significant fact because no egregious racist misconduct was alleged to have occurred prior to 1989. In the words of basketball coaching legend John Wooden, when everybody thinks alike, nobody thinks. There are countless leaders in history such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln Winston Churchill, and Franklin D. Roosevelt who used the value of challenging their own modes of thinking; whether through a team who had diverse views, or reaching out to others for advice, or seeing how the value of people who think differently than you builds success. In 1990, the investigation determined that racist signs, including the sign shown in the Hayward video, were posted on a tree in the campground for parts of one day. Other attendees intervened and broke up the confrontation. He described the doll as a seed and told the audience that one must 'kill the seed when it is young," and proceeded to beat the doll. For 1989, we received numerous allegations of racist conduct, most of which were made by Richard Hayward. The Good Ole Boy System in the Military - Part-Time-Commander.com OIG also reviewed the testimony of hundreds of witnesses provided during interviews conducted by other agencies. Although our investigation established that the Roundup was nothing like a "Klan rally," the fact that specific acts of racist misconduct occurred in three different years made more difficult our assessment of the general charge that the Roundup had a "whites-only" attendance policy. The banner was thrown in the trash. Both nepotism and cronyism are often at work when political parties recruit candidates for public office. Decisions that need to be made get kicked down the road and unpopular people no matter their competence have no voice. None of the allegations of criminal conduct were substantiated, although activity inappropriate for a gathering with a substantial number of law enforcement officers took place. When the persons in the registration area observed the sign, it was removed. OIG investigated every allegation of specific racist misconduct made by Hayward, Randall, several current and former black ATF agents, and witnesses who were interviewed during the course of this investigation. In some instances these persons cooperated; in others they refused to answer any questions. According to the lawsuit, Satterthwaite says he was not given any explanation as to why he was being surveyed. Our investigation established that DOJ employees had quite diverse experiences at the Roundup. But the inquiry is, by necessity, highly fact-specific. We found no evidence that the invitations to the Roundup, either written or oral, made explicit references or even allusions to racial restrictions on attendance or that racist activities were available or welcome at the event. Nor, as the initial news accounts suggested, was the Roundup dominated by federal law enforcement personnel. We hope that our effort to deal fully and carefully with disturbing allegations against officers responsible for enforcing our federal criminal laws will promote the fair administration of justice and the public's confidence in the ability of the Department of Justice to police itself. He also alleged that ATF agents surrounded cars entering the campground and shouted, "Got any niggers in that car?" Even male attendees told us that would not have wanted any female family member or friend to attend the Roundup because of how women were treated. OIG identified forty-four past or present DOJ employees who attended at least one Roundup. He is adept in several forms of martial arts, including Kenpo Karate, Tae Kwon Do, and various grappling styles. In addition, because our evaluation of DOJ employee conduct required the fullest and most accurate reconstruction possible of what had actually occurred at the Roundup, we sought to identify as many attendees of the various Roundups as we could. Avoidance of critical thinking during planning efforts: People dont criticize plans that are rolled out by power players, thereby not really putting our best foot forward. The OIG report contains a summary of our findings with respect to these and all other DOJ employees who attended. This process is a cancer that eats away your staff until the only remaining experienced staff you have are beyond disgruntled. In conducting this investigation, the OIG's principal purposes were (1) to determine whether DOJ employees had committed acts that might warrant sanction by their components and (2) to determine whether existing standards of conduct provide adequate guidance as they relate to off-duty conduct or whether any changes in administrative policy or In 1992 and 1993, Richard Hayward brought to the Roundup David Duke for President campaign literature and souvenirs, and materials publicizing the National Association for the Advancement of White People (NAAWP), a pro-Duke organization whose Michigan chapter Hayward had founded. Despite reports that prostitutes were present during various Roundups, we found no evidence that anyone was solicited for prostitution or that sex was exchanged for money. Likewise, no federal, state, or local law enforcement agent was fired because of his participation in the Roundups. The good ole boy system is a haven for groupthink, as the more group-focused the leadership team becomes, the less people are thinking and/or challenging each other. However, we found no evidence linking DOJ employees to acts of public drunkenness, public lewdness, or any of the other sordid aspects of the Roundup in any specific or persistent way. Those who are not within the in-group will sooner or later find themselves burnt out, as issues they raise get discarded. We also coordinated with a number of other law enforcement agencies that were conducting investigations into participation by their own personnel in the Roundup, most notably the Department of Treasury Office of the Inspector General (Treasury OIG). That database shows that there have been 429 fatal officer . The Orange County Sheriffs Office has problems like everywhere else, but at least Sheriff Kevin Beary supports his troops. Although not raised initially as allegations, OIG found substantial credible evidence of rampant alcohol abuse and extreme cases of juvenile and shocking behavior. Only through a full understanding of the context of the event and the employee's participation in it can a fair assessment be made of whether punishment is appropriate. The Investigators: Good Ol' Boys - WAFB They will try ordering you around, like they're in a position to do so. Extremely gratifying reveal of the "good ole boy " system coming to light in this cold, calculating, criminal murder #Murdaugh trial. Although we heard conflicting views as to whether this conduct was intended to send a benign message of "Southern heritage" or a message of racism and intolerance, especially towards African Americans, we conclude that such displays had the effect, whether intended or not, of adding to a racially charged and hostile environment. At our direction, DOJ components canvassed their employees to determine whether any had either attended or been invited to a Roundup or knew anyone who had. I can see and understand how the system would come into practice. Such conduct included playing music with racist lyrics at campsites; wearing, trading, and selling T-shirts with racially insensitive messages; telling racially offensive jokes during official competitions; and, in the context of particular facts found, displaying Confederate flags. Remarkably, we found no one in attendance who appeared to be offended by such activity or who sought to curb it. No DOJ employee ever served on the "REX" (Roundup Executive Committee), the group responsible for setting Roundup policies. Findings Regarding Specific Racist Misconduct. In a number of years, but certainly in 1990 and 1992, Confederate flags were displayed at various locations in and around the Roundup campground. In any event, no one was punished for posting them. In addition OIG concluded that the claims of bestiality, sex on Grumpy's stage during the 1995 Roundup, and naked men jumping out of trees onto women passing below were all unsubstantiated. Although we found credible evidence that Rightmyer gave speeches exhorting participants to stop such behavior, his efforts were sporadic at best and essentially went unheeded. "Obviously LMPD fights any type of discrimination but I don't know about the case and if I did I couldn't comment about it," Fischer said. Louisville Metro Police facing bias, discrimination lawsuit | whas11.com At least 10 percent of the attendees had federal law enforcement affiliations. In addition to Hayward, two other witnesses had vague and indeterminate recollections of some type of racist sign being posted in the campground for a short time in 1989. Mike Kratz, MBA, PMP, RTTP, C-Hyt - Co-Founder/Owner - Complete One witness also recalled that Hayward was wearing a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. mask with a bullet hole in the forehead. Dallas Police Association president calls for end of 'good ole boy' system of promoting officers to top ranks By Scott Goldstein 11:34 AM on May 14, 2012 CDT Dallas police leaders have been. In 1995, one current and three retired Fort Lauderdale police officers confronted a white ATF agent who had come to the Roundup with two black law enforcement officers. For more information about government ethics programs and resources contact John Pelissero. Moreover, we found Randall's claim to have found the "license" in a Roundup bathroom not to be credible. agent and to the applicable Department of Treasury component for one of its employees who used to be employed by DOJ. Now you are bringing niggers to the Roundup." We further believe that such regulation is wholly appropriate. Police need to stop using excessive force, violating people’s civil rights, refusing to investigate complaints. To assist the Director of the FBI in his determination of punishment in this case, we are also forwarding additional information from our investigative files and will provide further information as requested. In part this lack of understanding is the result of very general provisions that govern off-duty conduct. OIG received no allegations and found no evidence that any DOJ property was used to support the Roundup. In our view, this employee demonstrated poor judgment that falls below applicable standards because he attended the Roundup after knowing of racist incidents at the event and his other actions evinced a toleration for, and encouragement of, such racist behavior. Third, executives should be thinking about strategic succession planning rather than waiting for retirements to occur and making picks in the moment. We found no evidence that anyone complained about such displays or that any action was taken to remove them. In 1993, Hayward arrived at the campground with his car plastered with racially offensive and political materials. Harvard professor Barbara Kellerman has identified seven types of bad leaders, and by ignoring bad leadership people undermine good leadership (Johnson, 2012). OIG found no evidence that any DOJ employee -- or federal employees from other agencies -- participated in such conduct. Tweet. Maintaining a healthy skepticism of your own thoughts and ideas leads to a growth mindset. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications. Regardless of their source, if true, these allegations threatened to seriously undermine the ability of these agents to perform their critical missions, particularly enforcing federal criminal law, upholding civil rights laws, and providing equal protection under the law. They believed that connections, partisanship, and other factors played a role. We also found that an atmosphere hostile to minorities -- and to women -- developed over time because inadequate action was taken by the Roundup organizers to appropriately deal with instances of racial or other kinds of misconduct.". Because of the historical connections between similar sites and racist activities, these agents attributed racist intentions to the Roundup due simply to its location. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Even where we developed substantial evidence that acts of misconduct took place, we have not in every case been able to identify who was responsible, despite determined efforts to do so. We found substantial evidence that the campground was a hostile environment for women especially in the later years of the Roundup. All told, our investigation took into account the statements of nearly 900 witnesses, including 560 who attended a Roundup. Hayward also brought some bumper stickers and hats to sell, without much success. Such conduct included playing music with racist lyrics at campsites; wearing, trading, and selling T-shirts with racially insensitive messages; telling racially offensive jokes during official competitions; and, in the context of particular facts found, displaying Confederate flags. a) 1989 Allegations We want to draw attention to good models of law enforcement that have improved the effectiveness of policing and interactions with minority communities. It has come to past that as things change that some things never change. I. To complicate issues even more, when groupthink is rampant, police organizations begin relying on successful implementations from the past that may no longer be relevant or produce the greatest yield for the department; but because it worked before, it stands to reason that it should be an acceptable means for today. In addition OIG concluded that the claims of bestiality, sex on Grumpy's stage during the 1995 Roundup, and naked men jumping out of trees onto women passing below were all unsubstantiated. Accordingly, we recommend that the Department of Justice do the following: 1) explicitly advise its employees that off-duty conduct is subject to regulation and review and that sanctions can be imposed for off-duty misconduct; 2) examine the existing standards of conduct that apply to the off-duty behavior of DOJ law enforcement components, and provide further guidance for what constitutes conduct that brings the Department or one of its agencies into disrepute; 3) educate and train its law enforcement officers concerning how participation in events that are characterized by racist misconduct in particular can interfere with their ability to effectively do their jobs, such as opening up lines of inquiry relating to racial prejudice when law enforcement officers serve as witnesses in criminal cases; and. 4) provide further training on the role of federal law enforcement officers in our society and the reasons why it is critical for law enforcement personnel to be held to extremely exacting standards of conduct to earn and maintain the full confidence of all citizens. It is the 21st century. Most people of interracial goodwill have never heard of Gene Rightmyer, the former Knoxville, Tennessee-based ATF agent who organized and led the Good Ol' Boys Roundup (Roundup) from 1980 through 1995. COLUMN: Bryan Co. Good Ol' Boy System Means No More Services for DV RELATED: A councilwoman's 'road map' to equity in Louisville. Time for reform and change. This woman denied that she was raped. The "good ol' boys club" mentality pretty much turns our place of work into high school. Importantly as well, there were not many options given the initial objective of finding a site for an overnight camping and whitewater rafting trip near Rightmyer's duty office in Knoxville. Although high ranking officers and senior enlisted have always tried to pluck toxicity out of the system because it goes against every military value, it still rears its head, typically in the form of the good ol boy system. A related idea is patronage, giving public service jobs to those who may have helped elect the person who has the power of appointment. This investigation involved a murky and difficult area -- the responsibilities of federal employees generally, and federal law enforcement personnel in particular, to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with their law enforcement responsibilities even when they are off duty. Maintain a fair and consistent workplace; employees who feel that they are treated fairly and respectfully are less likely to complain or sue. Many fell somewhere in between. Misappropriation of funds in local government, discrimination against businesses, or favoritism allowing certain people to do . When the investigation began, concern was raised that federal employees might have used government time and resources to promote racist activities, in violation of Office of Government Ethics standards. Frank Booth. petition: We Demand the corruption and good ole Boy system be Decisions that need to be made get kicked down the road and unpopular people no matter their competence have no voice. Beginning to End Racial Profiling: Definitive Solutions to an Elusive For 1995, Randall contended that "nigger hunting licenses" were openly available on the Roundup campground. And although we were able to identify more who had been invited to attend, most chose not to -- some merely because the name and location suggested to them that they would not be welcome there. Satterthwaite, who has been with the department since 2012, says LMPD has a "clique like nature" that negatively affects morale in the department. John F. Kennedy, for example, appointed his brother Robert as attorney general. Compounding the frustration is that these small groups of in-players are loyal to each other to the core, even when one of their members is incompetent. The phrase used by the persons engaged in the activity was "checking cars for niggers." On July 11, 1995, the Washington Times blew the whistle on this annual racist Roundup of law enforcement agents and their invited guests. Although in earlier years we found efforts by Rightmyer to ensure that women were treated appropriately and these women reported no problems, we found little evidence of concern in the later years when the objectionable conduct became pervasive. Finally in October he relinquished the videotape for analysis by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and agreed to an on-the-record interview. Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. In 1992 and 1993, Richard Hayward brought to the Roundup David Duke for President campaign literature and souvenirs, and materials publicizing the National Association for the Advancement of White People (NAAWP), a pro-Duke organization whose Michigan chapter Hayward had founded. Surveys were sent to many agencies across Texas. Finally, a full investigation of the Roundup was necessary because these allegations had a large potential impact on the administration of the federal criminal justice system and the character and reputation of federal law enforcement officers These men and women have been the . Although the Roundup was plainly not the type of event that brings credit to its participants, we developed no evidence that any significant role was played in the Roundup by any DOJ personnel past or present. Harris County Sheriff Mike Jolley reacts to comment Democrat Stacey Racial Inequities in Law Enforcement - Our Scientists' Work | RTI However, the respective components may wish to consider counseling for some of their employee participants based on our findings. Substantiated Allegations Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. A so called "merit-based" promotion policy or system is nothing but another way to make it sound like management is promoting based on merit, when they're actually just putting up a smokescreen to disguise their need to circumvent civil service rules to put their boys into positions they're too . We not only had to deal with weak recollections due to the passage of time but also faulty or incomplete memories because so many participants had consumed so much alcohol during the Roundup. Apparently, the same concern and solicitude did not extend to the relatively few female law enforcement personnel who went to a Roundup. Basically favoritism is just what it sounds like; it's favoring a person not because he or she is doing the best job but rather because of some extraneous feature-membership in a favored group, personal likes and dislikes, etc. Findings Regarding Specific Racist Misconduct Hayward was told he could not enter the campground unless all of these materials were removed. Satterthwaite is asking for reinstatement to his position, a trial by jury and that the department covers his attorney fees. After multiple failed attempts, Satterthwaite was elected as the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer under then-Deputy Chief Lavita Chavous. In response to this activity and an article Hayward published about the Roundup the following month in the NAAWP Newsletter, in which he claimed that numerous David Duke supporters attended the Roundup, the event's organizers instituted new policies for 1993 prohibiting political and racist activity. An important part of the climate was established by the availability of unlimited amounts of alcohol. What ethical dilemmas do favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism present? Others witnessed or heard enough that they showed poor judgment in not taking appropriate steps to satisfy themselves that the objectionable conduct would not recur. In their affidavits to the Senate, the two Ocoee women claimed to have heard that a woman was gang-raped by a large number of Roundup participants. "man's job." The "good ole' boy" network is alive and well in some departments. When the organizers of the Roundup learned about the signs, they ordered the signs taken down. Meeting the ethical challenges of leadership: Casting light or shadow. Racist skits were performed in 1990 and 1992. We believe we have developed a fair and accurate picture of what occurred. In 2002, a survey from the federal government's Office of Personnel Management found that only 36.1 percent of federal workers thought promotions in their work units were based on merit. Others may restrict the hiring of relatives or friends in more general conflict-of-interest rules. Sometime after the confrontation some unidentified persons painted the words "niggers go home" and "whites only" on toilets in the campground. Based on our review of the statements of over 150 attendees at the 1989 Roundup and our credibility determinations regarding the various witnesses, we concluded that no racist sign or effigy was displayed at the registration desk for any portion of the 1989 Roundup and that the claim that ATF agents were "checking cars for niggers," although similar to conduct reported in other years, is unsubstantiated. Nor, as the initial news accounts suggested, was the Roundup dominated by federal law enforcement personnel. Although OIG was able to interview the local residents and the current and former ATF agents who made allegations, the militia members did not cooperate. Fired up or burned out: How to reignite your teams passion, creativity, and productivity. The term originally referred to social and business connections among former pupils of male-only elite . The good ol boys of the work site have ruled on how things seem to get down. Thirty-six were DOJ employees when they attended; eight went prior to becoming DOJ employees. One author has experienced time after time a working climate where people would rather be seen as smart, instead of asking the necessary clarification questions on a myriad of issues. PHOTO: An example of the racist paraphernalia sold at this event. 5 ways the 'good ol' boy' system screws good troops Greater punishment could be warranted, therefore, if the behavior evidenced in this investigation is part of a pattern of documented racial insensitivity.