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Indybay Feature

Use of the Word "Dindunuffin" by Police Officer Triggers Internal Affairs Investigation

by Santa Cruz News
The Santa Cruz Police Department has opened an internal affairs investigation into the conduct of Officer Chris Galli, who in January referred to a man who he had previously arrested as a dindunuffin on social media. Galli, posting as "Chris Meriekuh", made the comment about the individual, who is African American and homeless, on Joe Netro's Santa Cruz, CA: Keepin' It Real hate blog. A screen capture of the comment was posted in an Indybay article, helping to raise awareness concerning the racist nature of the term, which originated among law enforcement officers to mock activists participating in the Black Lives Matter Movement during its initial rise in 2014 and 2015. Today the term is used more generally by police as a pejorative to describe black arrestees who deny committing a crime.
sm_chris-galli_scpd_santa-cruz-police-department-racist-comment_dindunuffin.jpg

In a Good Times Santa Cruz article by Lauren Hepler, Santa Cruz Chief of Police Andrew Mills confirmed that the department had initiated the investigation. "Yes, It has been brought to my attention," Mills told Good Times, "and we have initiated an Internal Affairs investigation into the matter”.

Joe Netro, who posts on Santa Cruz, CA: Keepin it Real anonymously as "Big Joe 77", allows an environment of hate to flourish in the comments section of his blog. He has responded negatively to the Good Times article, which served either intentionally or unintentionally as a condemnation of his work. In a blog post that followed the publication of the article, Netro wrote about the necessessity of posting anonymously online and using a pen name. He cited Good Times Santa Cruz as one reason to use a pen name.

"There are those, like the goodtimes, that wish to do harm," Netro wrote.

The Good Times article was also condemned by a chief collaborator of Netro's: Steve Schlicht of Take Back Santa Cruz and the Santa Mierda hate blog. Schlicht called it, "fake news" and accused the Good Times of having a, "we hate cops bias".

(Photo: Officer Chris Galli)

§Original Post
by Santa Cruz News
sm_dindunuffin_chris-galli-santa-cruz-police-department-racist-comment_scpd.jpg
Found in the comments section of a Santa Cruz, CA: Keepin It Real blog post about the arrestee.
§
by Santa Cruz News
sm_santa-mierda_big_joe_77-joe_netro-santa_cruz_ca_keepin_it_real-police_chief_andrew_mills-chris_galli_dindunuffin.jpg
§
by Santa Cruz News
sm_santa-cruz-good-times-big-joe-77_joe_netro---keepin-it-real.jpg
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Pat Colby
Thu, Sep 12, 2019 8:46PM
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