“These people are f****** disgusting…It’s like they’re animals,” Philadelphia police officer William Thrasher allegedly said.
Thrasher, of Tacony, is a white cop in the 22nd District who allegedly feels the utmost disgust for the black residents of North Philadelphia — the people he is supposed to serve and protect. At least, that’s a Temple journalism student's take on Thrasher after spending three hours with the officer as part of a school assignment.
Temple senior Shannon McDonald accompanied Thrasher on a ride along for a journalism college project. What McDonald says she heard during that ride was printed on a Web site for Temple’s Multimedia Urban Reporting Lab.
Thrasher is quoted in the article as saying black people’s problems are “TNS” or “typical n***** s***," the Daily News reported when it picked up the story.
McDonald's article landed Thrasher on desk duty.
The Guardian Civil League is now calling for his dismissal from the force, according to the paper.
"If that’s the way he feels about black people, then he needs to be off our streets…disciplinary action is a slap on the hand...they need to tell him to find a new career,” Rochelle Bilal, head of the GCL said.
Thrasher tried to defend his statements by saying he’s not racist, because he works with black people.
“I’m not racist…they have jobs, they support their families, they’re good people. Most of the people who live in this area are bad people. And they happen to be black,” he allegedly told McDonald.
Police are questioning the validity of the article, Lt. Frank Vanore told the Daily News.
“This is a student journalist," he said. "We don’t know how much of what she wrote is true.”
Associate Journalism Professor Chris Harper edited the piece and stands by McDonald’s claims, according to the newspaper.
Thrasher was assigned to the 22nd District in November 2007. Police Internal Affairs is investigating.
