New York City Parks Department Employee Finds Black Baby Doll Hanging From Noose(VIDEO)

The New York City Parks and Recreation Department is under investigation after a 60-year-old African American employee found a black baby doll hanging from a metal chain noose in front of the loading dock on Dec. 20, WPix.com reports.

The incident took place in the department's Bronx borough headquarters. According to local blog "A Walk in the Park," the worker who discovered the doll was described as looking traumatized.

"He looked like he was going to have a stroke," another employee told NYC Park Advocates president Geoffrey Croft. "I feel really bad for him."

In addition to the doll, the letters "KKK" were also found scratched in a bathroom. The events prompted the New York Police Department to launch a hate crime investigation. The NYC Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe issued the following statement:

The Parks Department does not tolerate hateful acts such as this or any form of discrimination. We are committed to maintaining a safe and respectful workplace for all staff. We immediately reported this incident to the NYPD and are fully cooperating in their investigation. We urge anyone with knowledge of this matter to immediately contact the NYPD so that the perpetrator or perpetrators can be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

However, police and other department sources claimed the Commissioner's statement wasn't entirely true, "A Walk in the Park" reports. They said although the doll was discovered in the morning, the incident was not reported until later that afternoon.

"That's bs, they waited for hours," an unidentified parks source told the blog. "They probably would have tried to sweep it under the rug if they could have."

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time there have been issues with racial discrimination. In May 2008, the department settled a lawsuit for over 20 million dollars, compensating minority employees for prejudices in their promotion and salaries.

The department said it plans to cooperate with the police department during the current investigation.

Comments

[paulwl]

07:48 AM on 12/26/2011

Were are those 'post racial' republicans to explain-away this?

[Holder Gunrunner]

03:50 PM on 12/27/2011

Maybe they were rioting for Nikes.

[Pamla Perez]

07:45 PM on 01/04/2012

Were the people out for Black Friday rioting too?

[MsG7]

11:16 AM on 12/25/2011

Keyword - Noose

[charleyvldm9]

02:31 PM on 12/24/2011

So what?

[wizkid14]

01:37 PM on 12/24/2011

Wow, it's just a damn shame that these sorts of intimidation tactics are still being used! I doubt if they put much effort in seeking justice.

[Omeezee]

11:42 AM on 12/24/2011

There is always someone on Huffpost (I think they thought they were on Foxnews site) who always defend this kind of crap. Come on, I know you're out there

[Danny Terry]

09:10 AM on 12/24/2011

Give me a break ! ever been to L A ?

[madonnak]

11:48 PM on 12/23/2011

I positively hate when people try to turn the tables. "What if the opposite happened instead of the ACTUAL story, would so many people care then?" Firstly, the opposite probably would not make any headline news and neither would this story have if it wasn't in the black voices section of Huffington Post. Just because an opposite case scenario wouldn't be brought to massive public attention, especially with anchors too busy reporting about so many pretty criminals(ie. Foxy Knoxy), pretty missing blondes, and the Kardashians, doesn't mean they don't get attention period. I hear of such things happening in my small little city and believe me, they are false accusations more than anything, but in either case of falsehood or a true hate crime, a weighty prison sentence is given when any hate crimes towards whites are discovered. Now back to the ACTUAL story at hand, this looks like a case that will be dropped by mid next week. Merry Christmas all.

[Dr of psychology]

11:35 PM on 12/23/2011

The article SHOULD have been titled:

" WELCOME TO AMERICA: Employee Finds Black Baby Doll Hanging From A Noose"

[slock1010]

09:06 PM on 12/23/2011

Sounds like a very sick joke by one of his coworkers.

[Ray Neirson]

08:49 PM on 12/23/2011

A double standard would be to make 10 white votes the equivalent of one white vote..

[John Shaw]

07:29 AM on 12/24/2011

well, when you find a parks or police dept with a white doll hanging from a noose AFTER being slapped with a $20 million fine for racism against whites, then let us know...

[Omeezee]

11:37 AM on 12/24/2011

Right! You don't need Sherlock Holmes and Watson to figure this one out do you?

[Dean Peters]

05:55 PM on 12/23/2011

After a thorough investigation the Parks Dept. revealed that a clueless Kim K Kardashian was visiting a Parks employee in the Mens bathroom. After a brief stint she autographed the stahl with her initials and left the "New" If I had a child with Kim Kardashian action figure hanging around to be found. The employee was put on paid leave. Kim Kardashian could not be reached for comment.

[jazzman001x]

05:13 PM on 12/23/2011

htis is very obvious who did it.......the employee and I hope they investigate it very deeply.

[sittingbull]

04:11 PM on 12/23/2011

This kind of smells like the Columbia noose incident...........will be interesting to see how it turns out.

[bbnpl4545]

12:53 PM on 12/23/2011

To the person who did this you need to grow up and get yourself some help.

[mark1966]

03:53 PM on 12/23/2011

Because of double standards.