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Even if you’re Black and want to become a cop, you will still be subject to overt systemic racism.

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Source: RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images / Getty

Several Black Drug Enforcement Academy recruits are alleging that their white instructor subjected them to racist names and taunts during their training. According to an AP report, an incident took place during a firearms class at the DEA Academy in Virginia where two students had the same name, a white man and a Black man. When both men responded to their instructor, he replied, “I meant the monkey.”

Yeah, that’s how they’re giving it up in the federal government. B-b-b-b-but wait, it gets worse! This same instructor, according to an internal complaint, also allegedly got on the firing range loudspeaker and made monkey noises to taunt the Black recruits.

“We were like, ‘It’s 2019. That shouldn’t even be a thing that we’re dealing with,’” said Derek Moise, who did not hear the noises himself but recalled the discomfort they caused his fellow Black trainees who did. “Everybody knows what those sounds and noises stand for.”

The DEA released a statement in response to the allegations:

“DEA takes allegations of misconduct very seriously and will not tolerate discriminatory behavior of any kind. DEA is committed to recruiting, retaining and promoting a workforce that reflects the diversity of our country and the people we serve.”

Doesn’t look like they took it too “seriously.” The idiot, Special Agent Jay Mortenson who fixed his mouth to spew racially charged insults at the Black recruits, wasn’t even properly disciplined for his actions. Mortenson retired last year following the investigation into the incident. AP noted that the DEA only “reassigned” Mortenson for his behavior, but that they didn’t have the “authority to pursue an administrative action.”

Interviews with previous recruits and other law enforcement officers reveal that this type of behavior is par for the course in the DEA where Black people are regularly chided and held to substantially different standards than their white counterparts. Back in 1977, Blacks and other minority recruits filed a civil rights lawsuit against the agency for their discriminatory hiring practices and biased promotions system. That lawsuit is still unresolved…TO THIS DAY!

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