New Appointment To General Orders Board For IMPD Has History Of Racially-Charged Posts
Dr. Clyde Posley, a new appointment to the General Orders Board for IMPD, has an established history of publishing racially-charged posts and expressing anti-police sentiments on his social media, according to Indianapolis City-County Councilman Paul Annee (R).
The newly created General Orders Board is designed to adopt, interpret and amend policing policies for the IMPD.
Four of the board’s seven members will be civilians, but they must be residents of Marion County to qualify, and they cannot be currently or formerly employed as a police officer. Civilians must also undergo training, including participating in the Citizen’s Police Academy and ride-alongs.
Posley, a senior pastor of the Antioch Baptist Church and a member of Faith in Indiana, may not even meet the residency requirement for appointment to the board, but it’s his social media history that concerns Councilman Annee the most.
“[Posley] made a series of racially-charged posts regarding police procedure,” Annee told the Hammer and Nigel Show Thursday, “So we felt there was a significant bias, a significant issue, and this is not someone that we felt comfortable having serve on one of the most important boards the city has.”
In one post, as reported by the Indianapolis Star, Posley shared a quote from an MSNBC anchor that reads in part, “White Americans are never afraid of the cops, even when they’re committing an insurrection.” Posley commented that “while this is certainly not true of all white people, it does ring true of many!!!!”
In another post, Posley shared photos of several prominent Black conservatives, including political commentator Candace Owens and Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, and said, “The downfall/destruction of most cultures, groups, and viable organizations normally starts with internal betrayal…” He then called the people pictured “enemies of their own culture and thus weapon used to help destroy it!”
“[The City-County Council] should be able to come together in a bipartisan way and agree that any person who has an active social media account that contains racially-charged comments related to policing procedures should not serve on such an influential and important board that ultimately has an impact on public safety,” Annee told Hammer and Nigel. “We have plenty of other candidates to select from.”
Annee also cited a lack of evidence that Posley meets the residency requirement to serve.
“[Posley] said that he lives in Marion County, but I’ve not seen any evidence to confirm that claim,” said Annee. “But the records that show his voting history – and those are publically available – show Hamilton County as of November 3, 2020. So there were just a lot of questions that weren’t addressed.
Annee said he asked to place Posley’s appointment on hold until further evidence could be presented.
“Unfortunately, those recommendations went unheard,” said Annee, adding that Posley’s appointment undermines the credibility of the General Orders Board.
“And that’s extremely upsetting considering that our officers’ morale is already at an all-time low, we’re seeing another record-breaking month of homicides, and this move will only further encourage good IMPD officers to look for opportunities elsewhere,” said Annee.
Click the link below to hear Hammer and Nigel’s full interview with Councilman Paul Annee.
https://omny.fm/shows/hammer-and-nigel-show/paul-annee-talks-citizen-merit-board-for-impd
