The Treasury Department is conducting its own investigation into alleged racial bias at an all-white law enforcement picnic, and a leader of the Congressional Black Caucus welcomes the probe.
Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin said the gathering - featuring racist T-shirts and slogans - appears to justify the doubts minority groups have in law enforcement.A thorough investigation overseen by a panel of outside experts is designed "to get to the truth, period," Rubin said Monday.
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., said he and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus applaud the inquiry.
Conyers said the investigation should determine whether racism is widespread in the Treasury Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
According to news reports, a former agent of ATF helped coordinate the gathering, known as the "Good Ol' Boys Roundup." Described as a weekend of relaxation for police officers, it was held May 18-20 in Polk County, Tenn.
The weekend was said to include the sale of T-shirts with Martin Luther King Jr.'s face behind a target, O.J. Simpson in a hangman's noose and white police officers with a black man sprawled across the hood of their car under the words "Boyz on the Hood."
Rubin said the Treasury will take whatever action is appropriate after the four-month probe is concluded.