Supporting Document(s)
Statement
CLEET Number : 0047514
License Type : Fulltime Peace Officer
License Category : Advanced Certification
License Status : Active
License Effective Date : 03/04/1985
License Expiry Date : N/A
REPORT: Inappropriate Social Media Post by Owasso Police Department Reflects Broader Concerns Over Culture of Racial Supremacy Within Owasso Police
Date: July 28, 2025
Subject: Racist Social Media Content and Culture of Racial Supremacy Within Owasso Police Department Leadership, Chief Daniel Yancey, Deputy Chief, Jason Woodruff, and Captain of Professional Standards, Shaun Jones.
On or about July 26, 2025, the Owasso Police Department’s official Facebook page published a post promoting a community blood drive using racially charged language and imagery. The post featured a graphic from the animated show South Park, depicting a group of dark skinned characters stereotypically styled to represent the Bloods street gang. The caption read:
"Whut up bluuud! We need it! Owasso Community Blood Drive. We won't 'jump you in', it's just a little jab."
This post was not only grossly inappropriate, but it also reflected deep-rooted racial insensitivity and cultural incompetence. By trivializing gang violence and mocking African American vernacular and appearance for humor, the post played into harmful stereotypes and reinforced the perception that the department sees Black identity as something to be mocked or caricatured.
The City of Owasso issued a formal press release on July 28, 2025, acknowledging the inappropriateness of the post, apologizing for the offense caused, and promising an internal investigation. While this response was necessary, it is insufficient in addressing the deeper issue: the all-white leadership structure of the Owasso Police Department appears to operate without adequate understanding, representation, or accountability when it comes to matters of race and equity.
The post is not simply an isolated lapse in judgment, it is symptomatic of a broader cultural issue within the department. The lack of racial diversity in leadership, combined with the absence of meaningful internal checks against discriminatory messaging, points to a culture of normalized racial insensitivity and implicit bias. The fact that such a post was publicly shared by an official government account suggests a failure in both oversight and ethical standards.
Key Concerns:
Racially Stereotyped Messaging: The language and imagery used in the post perpetuate dangerous stereotypes about African Americans and gang culture.
Lack of Oversight: This content passed through at least one layer of review before being published, implying systemic desensitization within the department.
Homogeneous Leadership: The absence of racial diversity in the department’s leadership contributes to a lack of perspective and cultural humility.
Accountability: A press release and investigation are minimal steps. Long-term accountability requires personnel reform, racial sensitivity training, and active diversification of leadership.
This incident highlights the urgent need for the Owasso Police Department to examine its internal culture, diversify its leadership, and institute concrete reforms to address systemic racism. Without real and sustained change, public trust, especially within minority communities, will continue to erode.
We will not stand by as our brothers and sisters are brutalized, criminalized, and silenced.
We reject a world where the powerful profit from our poverty and our lives are treated as expendable. We will not wait for justice to be handed down from above.
We will organize, resist, and take it for ourselves.
WE ARE NO LONGER ASKING...
#ReformIsNotARequest
