News-Record.com

Probably like most readers, our Editorial Board puzzled over this story today. We could only agree that it produces more questions than it answers.

OK, the EEOC has notified at least a half-dozen black police officers that it found evidence they were discriminated against at work.

That would confirm reports out of GPD since the administration of former Chief David Wray, which ended in January 2006. In effect, City Manager Mitchell Johnson and City Council members were saying, "Yeah, there was a lot of discrimination going on there."

Which makes it pretty darn perplexing that Johnson has nothing to say now and some council members are talking about appealing the EEOC rulings.

But we really don't know any more than we did before. What specific complaints did EEOC investigate? Which did it find had merit and which didn't? If EEOC supports only six out of 32 officers who filed complaints, does that mean it ruled against the other 26? Or are those investigations simply not finished yet? And what actions, if any, has the city taken in response to alleged discrimination? If an officer was denied a promotion on account of his race, for example, has he now been given that promotion? Has the officer who received the promotion he didn't deserve been demoted?

Our fearless leader, Allen Johnson, will be looking into all this for a possible editorial next week and would welcome ideas.

For tomorrow, I'm going to put together an editorial on the hits and misses of the finally adjourned General Assembly session, and Ken Irons will write about the needed toughening of procedures for dealing with people who speed like maniacs on our highways and too often get off with a slap on the wrist.