Thursday, April 30, 2009

Moron Dressed As Klansman Embarrasses PRP, SW Louisville

I have avoided this story since it broke, hoping it would be buried under the crushing weight of Swine Flu Madness, but alas, it is being covered heavily by WHAS11 and I am now forced to say something about it.

Robert "Danny" Heil, a man who holds the rank of Captain with the PRP Fire Department, has been suspended without pay after he allegedly dressed up in a white sheet and hood and exclaimed "It's dark now, it's KKK time". If true, this act illustrates an astonishing display of stupidity on the part of Heil, who has been with the department for more than 10 years. This incident, along with another last year and the frequent, ongoing use of the "N-Word" by Heil is the subject of a criminal complaint filed by Christopher Glass, a black PRP firefighter.

People in the workplace, particularly people in leadership positions, that demonstrate such creepy, ignorant behavior should be given the firefighter's boot to the ass and thrown out the door with no recourse. We in Southwest Louisville have tried very hard to show the community that our part of town is not some haven for racist rednecks in white sheets...then a Captain in the fire department does something like this to blow the whole thing. Sadly, Southwest Louisville is once again, in the eyes of the community, a gang of ignorant Klansmen with NO CLASS or MORALS. Thanks, Heil. If this case ends up as a civil claim, it is anyone's guess as to how much money this could cost the fire department.

The PRP Fire Chief says Glass' claim is being taken seriously. I believe that to be true. If guilty, Captain is a rank of which Heil is spectacularly unqualified to fill. This is one fire PRP should allow to burn out.

3 comments:

  1. Several years ago my wife and I returned to find one of those all too familiar advertising bags on our driveway. Believing it to be a bag of coupons, I discovered a KKK newsletter.

    Bigotry is not just a southwest issue, so is indifference. Thanks for caring.

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  2. This is a shame. I too thought we had made progress in race relations in the south end. This Heil guy is a true idiot.

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  3. Truly regretable black eye to PRP. I would look deeper into managements handling of this deal. There's always more to the story.

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