Community groups denounce hateful comments from disgraced DPS Director, call on US DOJ to investigate
Austin, Texas – A consortium of community groups released the following statement in response to recent remarks from Texas Department of Public Safety Director, Steve McCraw:
We are outraged and troubled by the hateful comments Director McCraw made earlier this week. Comparing human beings to an “infestation” or “cockroaches” is an incitement to hate and violence and serves no law enforcement purpose.
While disgraced director McCraw claimed to be speaking about alleged members of a gang, there is no justification for referring to a human being in this manner. This extreme language is an intentional tactic that leads to racial profiling and demonizes entire communities.
Law enforcement officials are charged with upholding the highest standards of conduct, particularly in their interactions with the communities they are sworn to serve. When Texas’ top police official uses this hateful, dehumanizing language, it undermines trust between law enforcement and the community, perpetuates stereotypes, and fosters an environment of fear and division. Director McCraw, whose record of failures during his tenure speaks for itself, should have understood the gravity of his words.
This is all the more urgent in the wake of racialized violence that has been occurring in Springfield, Ohio, with slurs targeting Haitian community members. That rhetoric has led to real dangerous consequences such as elementary schools being evacuated after bomb threats. By utilizing this language, we open Texas up to the same threats.
We call on state representatives to hold McCraw accountable for his words and understand their role and responsibility in ensuring that the next DPS director is not plagued with these hateful values. We further call on the United States Department of Justice to investigate racial profiling in all of DPS’ operations during McCraw’s tenure.
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Undersigned
LatinoJustice PRLDEF
Grassroots Leadership
Texas Civil Rights Project
Mano Amiga SMTX
Eagle Pass Border Coalition
Border Vigil of Eagle Pass
Immigrant Legal Resource Center
