East Hampton Police Chief Matt Reimondo met with members of the NAACP in New Haven on Wednesday to discuss the emails he has come under fire for having forwarded.
According to a press release Reimondo distributed on Wednesday, the meeting came at his request.
“I requested today’s meeting to bring everyone together as a learning opportunity for me, both personally and professionally,” Reimondo said in the release.
The controversy began at the March 8 town council meeting when Pete Brown, reading from a prepared script, expressed “outrage” over emails that had been brought to his attention. Brown called the emails from Reimondo to other town employees a year earlier racially offensive.
Brown, who spoke during public comments, provided council members copies of the emails. Among them, a picture of President Barack Obama as a witch doctor. Another had a picture of musical artist Coolio, who is black and has several spiked hair braids. That email made mention of shooting a "30-pointer," referring to the number of points on a deer’s antlers. Both emails were chain emails Reimondo had received, then forwarded.
Reimondo quickly apologized for forwarding the emails and was given a written reprimand from town manager Bob Drewry, but that did not keep members of the NAACP from showing up at the March 22 town council.
Scot Esdaile, Connecticut President of the NAACP, and Rosa Browne, Middlesex County President, were both in attendance. Neither spoke during the council meeting, but afterward Esdaile told reporters the punishment did not go far enough and wanted the town to take further action against Reimondo.
On Wednesday, Reimondo met with Esdaile, Browne and Michael Jefferson, a civil rights attorney. During the meeting, Reimondo again apologized, took responsibility for his actions and discussed the diversity training the department has taken since the emails came to light.
"He apologized. He was very apologetic. We thought it was compelling for him to come down and learn from the NAACP," Esdaile said.
Still, the NAACP does not appear satisfied. For more on this story, see WTNH.com.
