Alabama city disbands entire police department over an officer’s racist text message

The entire police force in Vincent, Alabama, had been disbanded after an officer’s racist text message was revealed.

First reported by Al.com, the text message in question was sent by an officer identified as “752.” He said in the message: “What do y’all call a pregnant slave?” to which an unidentified recipient responds: “?” and “??” Officer “752” answers: “BOGO Buy one, get one free.”

Vincent Mayor James Latimore confirmed the incident on Thursday, saying: “We passed a resolution with intent to pass an ordinance to disband the police department.” Latimore also said “appropriate action has been taken” against the officer who sent the text message and declined to reveal their identity.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, who will now be handling law enforcement calls from the area, on Friday condemned the two officers’ actions and added their commitment to “providing emergency law enforcement related service to the citizens (of Vincent) at this time.” The city of Vincent has a population of around 2,000.

Vincent City Councilmember Corey Abrams said during a council meeting on Thursday: “This has torn this community apart. It doesn’t matter what color we are as long as we do right by people.” Abrams declined to go into specifics on what actions were taken but told Al.com that he was “still emotional” about the incident.