TEMPE PD OFFERED PROTECTION TO FRAT AT CENTER OF RACIST MLK PARTY

The president of ASU'S expelled Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) fraternity tweeted that the chapter had been offered escorts by the Tempe police. The fraternity's president Syed "Shafqat" Huq posted on his twitter account, which is now private, on Thursday that he had been contacted by a sergeant from the Tempe police who offered police escorts to protect fraternity members.  It's unclear what threat the Tempe police believe the TKE frat boys are facing, but Huq laughs off their proposal in his tweet.

It's interesting to note that while the Tempe police regularly coordinate with the FBI to spy on activists, and place department critics on "hazard" watch lists, they are willing to provide police protection to a fraternity with a history of racism and violence. Nor is this the first time the police have come to the aid of ASU's fraternities during a racist outburst. As noted in our previous piece on the violent, racist, and sexist frat culture at ASU, the gangster themed MLK party hosted by TKE members has a historical precedent in the racist actions of campus frats of the past.

As Michael Lacey reported in his Phoenix New Times article on the April 1989 race riot on frat row, the frats faced no consequences from their 500 strong attack on four black students, whom drunk Greeks and party-goers surrounded and pilloried with anti-black racist epithets, in what turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.

Indeed it was two of the attacked black students who were taken in handcuffs to the police station, and one of the men detained by the police recalled the cruelty of police officers during his detention, reporting that his "handcuffs were so tight that he was in pain as he sat in the back of the squad car."  And that "[a]s he shifted positions, he remembered an officer warning him that if he moved again, the cuffs would be tightened until tears came to his eyes."  Lacey also documented the efforts of ASU police to downplay any racist elements of the attack, as the national press cooperated by not reporting on the scale of the attack and the racism of the students present.

The offer of police protection for TKE members is not the only troubling news since the expulsion of the ASU chapter, as more racist skeletons in the TKE closet emerged despite the national organization's attempt at sanitizing their image.  After Arizona State University announced on Thursday that the Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) fraternity would be expelled from campus, the national TKE fraternity announced its support for the ASU chapter. The national body followed the announcement of expulsion by putting the frat on internal probation, placing the blame for the party on 16 of the chapter's 125 members, and offering to provide a "a professional program on cultural diversity" or something.

The tone of the national TKE is at odds with the efforts of the supporters of the ASU chapter, who created a "SAVE Arizona State University Tau Kappa Epsilon" to rally support for the troubled chapter.  However, the support did not arrive in the way that the backers might have hoped.  A Facebook user named  Micheal King, who claimed to be a TKE alumni, posted a racist frat party photo (see below) of two men in a stereotypical gangster attire, and in black face, with the following text:

Full support on the issues of freedom of speech and expressing controversial opinions and ideas. Save our consititutional rights. here’s a pics from 1990 at Kent state univ. when TKE was allowed to express our rights. if the university or TKE nationals causes you problems, ,seek independent legal advise.

More throwback, 1990, Who is that dark skinned brother on the left ? . Kent State , TKE fraternity party, back when we were allowed to express ourselves. damn, times have changed for the worse. [sic]

The post has since been removed from the Facebook page.  Meanwhile, the official message from the exclusive organization, that "[t]he poor taste and acts of a few are not reflective of the whole" continued to look more and more ridiculous.  As thegloss.com writer Julia Sonenshein noted, 'TKE clicked “like”' on the black face photo. 

READ MORE COVERAGE OF ASU FRATS HERE.

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The joke's on us: Phoenix cop mocks Olympic athlete, the mentally ill, and wins gold medal in anti-black racism

Police Humor

You'd think in this day and age of internet hacks and data dumps (like, for instance, the one that targeted DPS in 2011), police would have their online information on lock down.  And you'd think, considering the various instances in which these leaks compromised what cops deem important and secret information, and also pointed to ongoing police racism, any officer who didn't have their personal accounts set to private would be very careful about their public posting.  However, if you thought that, you'd be wrong.

In fact, it turns out a casual virtual stroll through the Twitter hashtag #phoenixpd reveals quite a bit of interesting material thanks to one user, @Yuli8987, a Phoenix police officer out of the Maryvale precinct.   @Yuli8987, who a simple Google search reveals to be Officer Yuliana Sobarzo, gave anyone with even a basic understanding of Twitter a glimpse into the life of a cop.

A life which happens to include a casual racist joke comparing highly accomplished Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt to an "escaped prisoner" from county hospital, as well as insulting commentary on proper courtroom attire, the role of divine intervention in our court system, remarks about the out of date hair styles of other cops and some disturbing photos that should give pause to anyone concerned with the increasing militarization of the police in the Valley.

In the above exchange, Officer Sobarzo posted out the photo above.  She tags it with #phoenixpd for some reason, which certainly begs the question of where it was taken and who was the intended audience?  Was the picture taken inside the Maryvale police station, or maybe at the county hospital?  Does it reflect the attitude of Phoenix cops in the Maryvale precinct towards the people in that part of the city?  Is it racist?  It certainly seems so.  At the least, residents of the city deserve an answer as to what message this photo is intended to send.

Indeed, a couple weeks after Officer Sobarzo posted out the picture it elicited a stunned response from another twitter user, who admonished the officer that the photo was offensive and that she ought to "be ashamed of [her]self" for posting it.  "SMMFH", she adds.  The usually loquacious cop failed to respond, but she also didn't take the image down, leaving the obvious impression that she condoned it.

To be clear, comparing Bolt to an escaped prisoner from a mental hospital not only carries the obvious racist connotations about black men and criminality, but it also makes reference to the past racist medicalization of black resistance to white racism  Bolt being a runner, the farce of drapetomania comes to mind immediately, a "medical" diagnosis of mental illness that Southern doctors invented to explain the mysterious tendency of black slaves to try to run away.  It's possible  that Officer Sobarzo doesn't know this bit of history, but in a country that still massively and disproportionately targets and imprisons black men it's worth pointing out.  One doesn't have to know the history of racism to perpetuate racism, and while the institution may have changed, the function has not.

Besides sharing that pic, Officer Sobarzo, who's very religious judging by her tweets, also dishes out advice to women in court, defendants presumably, mocking their attire.

 And here noting the hand of God in the court room.

And here making fun of a fellow cop's hair style.

But it's here with these last couple of images that the joke, such that it is, wears off and we get a disturbing look at another aspect of modern policing.  Officer Sobarzo shared a photo of someone (we assume it's her) holding a loaded magazine with what looks like an AR15 in the background.  Accompanying it is the text "It's a dirty job.... but someone's gotta do it" below it, followed by an enthusiastic emoticon to emphasize its irony.

Then, consider the following photo which shows someone, presumably Officer Sobarzo, holding a hat sporting the Pipe Hitters Union logo (see it for sale here), which features a crusader's shield emblazoned with a skull and crossbones.  Embroidered on the back of the hat is the phrase, "OUR MEETING IS NO ACCIDENT, IT IS GODS WILL [sic]".  Such phrasing and imagery reeks of a judge, jury and executioner attitude.

The Pipe Hitters Union online store describes their mission this way:  "We started 'Pipe Hitters Union' in 2004 as an informal way for all those who live the Warrior lifestyle to show their unification. All of our products are designed to represent the Warrior Attitude and Lifestyle."  Pipe Hitters is slang for  "Someone or a group of people who are willing to go to the extreme in order to get things accomplished." The Urban Dictionary offers this complementary definition: 'A serious thug - Dedicated, professional and highly capable of "gettin' medieval on yo' ass" in highly unique and creative ways, from urban combat to hands-on work.'

The PHU is popular with law enforcement and special forces, two groups that intermingle more and more these days.  So in an era in which the police are increasingly militarized, and staffed by former soldiers, this kind of crusader, take-no-prisoners and go to any length to accomplish the mission attitude is deeply troubling, and even more so when combined with Christian imagery.  For anyone with any doubts about the practical implications of this, last weekend's spree of killings by Valley police officers ought to be proof enough.  Considering that 4 of the 5 people who were directly or indirectly killed by Valley officers last weekend died at the hands of Phoenix cops, does that sound like the kind of image that the Phoenix Police and Chief Garcia want to present?

It's yet another example of the logic, methods and style of the "War On Terror" coming home to roost in our neighborhoods -- poor and nonwhite neighborhoods in particular -- where the domestic version of the War on Terror, the War On Crime, takes place.  These are parts of the city, like Maryvale, where the adversarial command and control nature of policing is no surprise.

In fact, it's all summed up by the PHU's own motto, "The World Is A Battlefield, Dress Accordingly".  Is this the way we want police to look at the neighborhoods they work in and the people they allege to serve?  A worldview in which, for example, a highly accomplished gold medal athlete is reduced in the eyes of police to a racist caricature of an escaped mental patient?  Not to mention the "us vs. them" orientation that it describes, an attitude that evokes the specter of the worst of the the Blue Code of Silence, where officers defend each other above all else, including refusing to rat each other out for breaking the law.  This kind of disposition among police isn't a positive sign for the general public's interactions with the Phoenix PD, especially for a police force asserting its desire to reform and clean up its image.