Police Chief Uses Polygraph to Detect Racism
Police Chief Shane Sullivan of Coopertown, TN has decided to use polygraph test as part of his police department’s application process to detect if applicants are racist. Sullivan recently took over as police chief in the town of about 4,000 people just north of Nashville.
Police Chief Shane Sullivan was hired after a series of inter-departmental scandals in which one police officer was caught on video last summer using a racial slur after stopping a black motorist.
Subsequently, the officer was fired, the police chief resigned, and the four-member department was dissolved, leaving the small town without any police at all. Years before, a mayor was voted out of office after the local prosecutor accused him of racism and running a notorious speed trap targeting Hispanic drivers, along Interstate 24.
Sullivan said he decided to implement the polygraph tests after taking one himself when he was hired. “I felt that if I had any hidden agendas or any bad thoughts it would come out,” he said. The polygraph test asks whether the person has ever viewed child pornography or committed a racially motivated crime. It also asks about criminal history, work history, or possible drug and/or alcohol abuse. It does not ask candidates whether they are racist.
However, Chief Sullivan says “I have had a few people come in and ask me about employment, and once I tell them about the polygraph, they don’t come back or show any more interest. I doubt any racists will apply,” Sullivan concluded.
One polygraph expert warned that polygraph tests can’t accurately predict racism for reasons that include a person’s inability to recognize racism, but the town’s people are ready to move on.
