Demagogue

The Washington Post reports on an online bulletin board for Montgomery County, Md., police officers that paints a rather unflattering picture of those who wear blue:

What's up with the cop in Silver Spring who's ratting out colleagues? That was the question raised by a police officer who started a thread on the online message board of the Montgomery County police union on July 15, 2004.

Within minutes, a flurry of responses began pouring in to the site .... They called the African American officer in question a "rat," a racist and a lazy cop who needed to "be put in her place."

... The message board was designed as a forum where officers could trade tips, complaints and light banter. But several officers say it has become an outlet for personal attacks -- often laced with racist language, sexual harassment and disparaging remarks about police supervisors, county leaders, immigrants and residents.

... The county's immigrants, a segment of the population whose trust the police department has worked hard to gain, have frequently been the target of offensive messages ..... (One post declared:) "In 20 years you'll have 150 channels of Telemundo, and you'll be paying for English-language channels ..."

... In August 2004, officers criticized a group of African immigrants who protested after a Montgomery officer fatally shot Peter Ayompeuh Njang, 25, a Cameroonian immigrant, on Aug. 12 in Silver Spring.

"What I'd like to know is how many of the protesters are illegals, and how many will be arriving to the demonstration in unregistered, uninsured vehicles with someone else's credit card," one officer identified as "Status Quo" wrote.