Discipline Decided for E-Mail Incident

Grand Prairie (Tex.) police chief Glen Hill has decided on discipline for four employees who received and forwarded e-mail that contained racist comments about President Obama. Public Safety Communications dispatcher Debra Willis was suspended for 28 days without pay, and police officers Tommy Hendrick, Mark Calvert and Michael Diaz were suspended for 21 days without pay. In a statement, Hill said Willis sent two e-mails and the officers each sent one, but he did not describe the content of the e-mail. He said they have all apologized for violating the city’s policy on sending offensive and inappropriate e-mail. “In each case these employees have had exemplary careers of service,” Hill said in the statement. “It is unfortunate that in a thoughtless moment they have blemished those careers and upset members of our community.”