Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Police Spokesman Suspended After Joke About 'Cartoon Mugshots'

Above: P.T. Bridgeport, master of hype and hyperbole, from POGO by Walt Kelly, the late, great Bridgeport cartoonist. We could all use a P.T. Bridgeport from time to time .. and from Tim to Tim. Hat tip to Type 101.

From the Bridgeport [CT] News:

Tim Quinn, Bridgeport Police Department spokesman, was suspended without pay May 12 after he sent reporters an e-mail in which he joked about creating cartoon mugshots for generic criminals with names like Miguel the Murderer and Tyrone the Thief. He later apologized.

The matter is under investigation by the city’s Labor Relations Department.

Quinn, a former radio news director, joked in the e-mail that reporters should hire a cartoonist to draw mugshots of fictional characters that could run with news stories about crime, instead of waiting for police to release the real photos.

He also suggested other characters such as Richard the Rapist, Hector the Home Invader and Benny the Bank Robber and described each character in detail. He said, for example, that Miguel would be a “kind of skinny rat wearing a dirty T-shirt” and Tyrone would be “an ugly mixed breed mongrel with sunglasses.”

The rest is here.

UPDATE: Connecticut Post: Bridgeport cop spokesman resigns over emails

No comments: