Allegheny County Jail corrections officer suspended for racist video
Pittsburgh leaders are denouncing a video that shows an Allegheny County Jail corrections officer spewing racist and hateful comments.
Brian Davis has been suspended after the video popped up on social media last week and went viral. The video features Davis holding a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire that says "[N-word] beater."
The video was not recorded at the jail, and it was not immediately clear who recorded it, when it was recorded, or if Davis was employed as a corrections officer at the time.
At-large Allegheny County Council Member Bethany Hallam told KDKA on Monday that Davis has worked for the jail for five years and currently works in intake.
She said she reached out to Warden Trevor Wingard on Sunday.
"To know that this person was responsible for keeping them safe in that facility, and he had these horrible and disgusting views, it's disappointing to me," Hallam said. "I'm happy that it got out there, that we now know how he's been thinking this whole time."
Wingard, who was appointed in January, is on vacation. A jail spokesperson said in a statement that an investigation is underway, but it does not "comment on personnel matters."
"We can say the ACJ administration, from Warden Wingard down, expects professionalism from all jail employees," the spokesperson said. "The jail does not tolerate racist or abusive language or behavior. We are investigating the situation, and if the allegations are found to be true, it will be dealt with appropriately."
Tanisha Long, a community organizer with the Abolitionist Law Center in Pittsburgh, said the guard should be fired.
"He needs to go," Long said. "He needs to do some soul-searching and figure out what it is about Black people that he does not like. But I also think we need to talk to every single person in that jail who has had an encounter with him."
"For someone who's just devoutly, openly and violently racist, it's scary, it's terrifying," she added. "The jail has to move fast."
Brian Englert, president of the jail's corrections officers union, pointed to the jail's ethics code.
"This is a troubling, straightforward charge that violates the county policy we must all abide by," Englert said in a statement to KDKA. "My understanding is he's currently suspended pending an HR investigation. ACPEIU membership is made up of a robust group of officers across gender, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. We hold an obligation of fair representation to members despite the severity of charges until the HR investigation wraps up."
KDKA went to Davis' home in West Mifflin on Monday, but nobody answered the door.
"I have faith in the jail administration and their investigation of this," Hallam said. "I can tell they are taking it very seriously."
KDKA reached out to the union for more information on Davis' suspension and whether he could be fired, but did not hear back on Monday night.
Hallam said all jail employees are required to sign a code of ethics, and there is a zero-tolerance policy for violations.
