A police officer who was fired for making a racially insensitive remark to another cop explained to a review board why he wouldn’t apologize for the remark.
Brent Clark, a now-former police officer of the St. Petersburg Police Department, made the remark to one of his colleagues on April 18 while they were working at an evidence processing station in police headquarters, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
During Clark’s conversation with Officer Scott Blanchette, “Clark lowered his voice, asking if the firearms seized by Officer Blanchette were taken from a Black man’s house and said they smell like an old Black man’s house,” according to a summary of the findings from an internal police investigation of the incident.
Blanchette did not immediately report the remark to supervisors but did tell other officers, describing the remark as “offensive, derogatory, hurtful and disgusting.”
Once a supervisor was notified, the agency’s Office of Professional Standards launched an investigation, and a Command Review Board met this week to examine the allegations against Clark.
The board ultimately found Clark’s conduct “unbecoming of a police officer.” During the review, police said that Clark “did not express remorse” for the remark and didn’t confess to its discriminatory nature. He stated that it did not carry any investigative value.
“He asserted there was nothing offensive about what he had said,” a report of the review states. “Clark provided additional examples of his ‘olfactory sense’ by offering the example of associating the smell of ‘curry’ with a household of ‘Indian’ heritage.”
“I’d like for him to explain what an old Black man’s house smells like,” one St. Petersburg resident told WFLA.
“That’s a racist statement, in my opinion, so I believe he should’ve been fired,” another person said.
Clark was fired from his position on Sept. 11.
He began serving with the St. Petersburg Police Department in 2011 and was assigned to the traffic division.
According to WFLA, he was once cited in a 2014-2015 performance review for using improper procedures for reporting and documentation.
In 2015-2016, he was at the center of a citizen complaint over an offensive conversation with a St. Petersburg resident and was given verbal counseling.
He was awarded the agency’s Life Saving Award in 2019 and the Chief’s Award of Excellence in 2020. In recent years, however, a supervisor reported that Clark had become “increasingly negative about his role within the agency.”
“At the St. Petersburg Police Department, we are committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful, and supportive workplace,” Chief Anthony Holloway said. “We do not tolerate racially insensitive comments or behaviors among our employees, as they do not reflect the values we stand for. Any violation of this commitment will be addressed promptly and appropriately.”
