Former police chief accused of ‘comparing African-Americans to monkeys’

A former police chief of a small Oregon town remains in the hot seal after being accused of making racist remarks and gestures while on the job. 

Former Clatskanie Police Chief Marvin Hoover, 56, was placed on leave last month and was allowed by the Clatskanie City Council to step down from his position last week, KOIN reported.

In a complaint filed by two police officers, they said Hoover made monkey sounds and moved in an offensive manner shortly after he was made aware of a woman who said she would file a lawsuit against the department for racism and discrimination. 

“As Chief Hoover was comparing African-Americans to monkeys, I began to become extremely uncomfortable,” Officer D. Alex Stone said in the complaint. “I have never been in a work environment where a manager, especially an executive officer, is openly racist.”

“I relayed several of the arrestee’s remarks such as, ‘When you look at me, my black skin and my nappy hair, all you see is an animal,'” Officer Stone recalled in the incident report. “Chief Hoover interrupted me and said ‘That’s what she is.'”

Since the report, Officer Stone told KOIN he has been harrassed and called the N-word.

On Friday, Mayor Diane Pohl wrote a Letter to the Editor thanking the former police chief for his service saying he had done "a job well done."

Contact Kristen DeSilva at kdesilva@reviewjournal.com.  Find her on Twitter: @kristendesilva