Derogatory remarks toward President-elect Barack Obama made on a social networking Web site are now the subject of an internal police investigation. A police department employee claims the statements were made on the MySpace pages of two Durham officers. "There's no exact words that were said," said Police Chief Jose L. Lopez Sr. in a telephone interview Wednesday from San Diego, where he is attending the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference. "It wasn't a racial slur, but we're still investigating it."Investigators, who are focusing on the context of what was written, have been looking into the allegations since Thursday. Lopez wouldn't disclose what was said or identify the officers involved.
City Manager Tom Bonfield, who was notified of the investigation late Tuesday afternoon, said he advised Lopez to complete it as quickly as possible. Bonfield, whom Lopez reports to, said the department has the discretion to notify him of such inquiries.
The police, as well as other city agencies, have a good sense of when an issue is big enough to notify him, said Bonfield, who added that he notified city council members within an hour of talking with Lopez. "It's important that the investigators have a chance to do their jobs and make sure they get all of the information," he said. "I think it's important that the police are given the opportunity to respond against any allegations against them."
Bonfield added that if the allegations are found to be true and officers posted racially charged statements, then an appropriate response by the department would be warranted.