(ANAHEIM, CA, 5/01/16) – The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today called for the resignation of a top Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department official for sending numerous Islamophobia and racist emails.
Tom Angel, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s chief of staff, reportedly sent offensive and derogatory emails as recently as 2013 from his Burbank Police Department work account when he was employed by that law enforcement agency. The Los Angeles Times reports that Angel appears to have circulated numerous emails that demeaned Muslims, African-Americans, Latinos, and women.
SEE: Top LA Sheriff’s Official Makes ‘Disappointing’ Apology For Racist Emails | Huffington Post
SEE: Top LA County sheriff's official sent emails mocking Muslims, Blacks, Latinos and Muslims | LA Times
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Top LA Sheriff's Official Makes 'Disappointing' Apology For Racist Emails www.huffingtonpost.com Tom Angel, the sheriff's chief of staff, said he regrets that the public saw jokes about Muslims, blacks and women. |
“Describing these bigoted emails as ‘ jokes’ does not excuse their content or explain why a high-ranking member of law enforcement holds such negative views of the very community he is sworn to serve and protect,” said CAIR-LA Public Affairs Coordinator Haroon Manjlai.“Such biased views may have impacted his ability to carry out his duties in the past.”
If Tom Angel does not resign from his position, CAIR-LA calls on LA Sheriff Jim McDonnell to dismiss Mr. Angel from office.
It is critical that law enforcement agencies demonstrate that bigotry and prejudice are absolutely unacceptable for everyone who serves the public. Keeping Mr. Angel in his current position will send the message that Islamophobia and xenophobia is tolerated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
CAIR has expressed concerns about anti-Muslim material posted on social media by a number of public officials nationwide.
SEE: CAIR-LA Calls for Resignation of El Monte officials over anti-Islam Facebook Post
SEE: Miss. Police Commander Under Investigation for Social Media Posts
SEE: CAIR Calls on Maine, New Jersey GOP Chairs to Repudiate Prejudiced Comments by Officials
SEE: CAIR Asks GOP to Repudiate Islamophobic Newsletter Distributed in Idaho
VIDEO: CAIR Asks Tennessee GOP to Repudiate Lawmaker’s Racist Facebook Post
CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
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CONTACT: CAIR-LA Communications Coordinator Ojaala Ahmad at 714-776-1847,oahmad@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726,ihooper@cair.com