Part 3: An Inside Look at Schleuter’s “Goobers” Memo

 A 2006 memo written by ex-Monroe Police Chief Ron Schleuter about “unwanted black males” is raising questions about whether the former top cop asked his officers to racially profile suspects.

The memo titled “Extra Patrol,” asks officers to patrol McKeen Plaza for unwanted black males, who “are walking on the property which is private property with no shirts, their pants down around their knees, showing their underwear, holding their ‘goobers’ and being loud and disrespectful.” That’s directly from Schleuter’s memo.

But Chief Otwell says the memo isn’t asking officers to racially profile suspects, since it provides a description of what suspects officers need to look out for.

“I don’t think it’s profiling. If you’re given a suspect, and he’s a black male, that’s what you’re looking for. If he’s a white male, you don’t look for a black male,” said Otwell.

Here’s the memo written by Schleuter:

“Residents of McKeen Plaza Retirement Community located at 1500 McKeen are asking for extra patrol due to groups of unwanted black males wandering through the complex and walking the sidewalks in front of the residences being loud, unruly and generally causing a disturbance to the elderly residents living there. They stated that this is taking place after 5:00 p.m. after the manager has left the premises. These groups of young black males are walking on the property which is private property with no shirts, their pants down around their knees, showing their underwear, holding their “goobers” and being loud and disrespectful. Residents in the complex are elderly and are fearful of getting out in the evenings to walk about the complex.

Please patrol this area and when possible park and walk through the complex and visit with the residents making them aware of your presence.”

However, Otwell admits he wouldn’t have used Schleuter’s language, particularly the part about the men “holding their ‘goobers’” in a professional memo addressed to patrol officers.

But Otwell says he can understand why Schleuter used the word “goober,” since “that’s in quotation marks. It may have been how it was called in (by residents),” he said.