BRIDGEPORT -- After a racially charged letter was sent to the Bridgeport Police Department on February 9, State Police investigators said they found it was all a hoax.
Former officer, Clive Higgins, 50, claimed to be a target of the letter, but was arrested Wednesday. Higgins, of Naugatuck, resigned from the Bridgeport Police Department on July 6.
Back in February, Higgins said he found a letter that stated, in part, that black police officers belong in the toilet. The letter showed up in several officers’ mailboxes. At the time, it appeared to be an "inside job" because the letter was written on official police department letterhead, which is not available to the general public.
The letter, titled "White Power," also referenced a highly publicized case involving three Bridgeport police officers, including Higgins. The officers were caught on camera kicking and stomping a man in Beardsley Park in May of 2011.
Higgins, a 12-year veteran of the department, was the only black officer involved, and was the only officer acquitted of brutality charges. The other two officers, Elson Morales and Joseph Lawlor, pleaded guilty to federal misdemeanors. They resigned from the department and face up to a year in jail.
The Bridgeport Guardians, a civil rights group made up of 53 minority members of the Bridgeport Police, held a press conference back in February denouncing the letter.
The document was just one of several threatening letters directed at the Bridgeport Police Department. Prior to the February incident, Lt. Lonnie Blackwell, the president of the Bridgeport Guardians, said he received one directed at him.
Higgins told investigators that Lt. Blackwell ordered him to write the letters, according to court documents. Investigators said Blackwell denied that claim.
Higgins surrendered to state police in Bethany Wednesday morning and was charged with second-degree false reporting of an incident. He was released and is due to appear in Superior Court on Wednesday, December 16.
FOX 61 asked newly-sworn in Mayor Joe Ganim for a comment on this incident. He said it would not be appropriate or intelligent for him to say anything on the matter because hasn't been briefed on it.
He also did not have a comment when asked if the Bridgeport Police Department has a problem with racism.
