According to reports, an Oregon police department no longer calls a beloved K9 « Lil ‘Kim » after complaints from black rights activists.
The Bend Police Department has long had its Belgian Malinois under the same name as the famous Brooklyn rapper mentioned in official press releases, as well as in a recently published Facebook post celebrating her « rock star suspect arrest dog » on her 6th birthday.
The name outraged activist Riccardo Waites, founder of Central Oregon Black Leaders Assembly, which complained in emails last week and then at a meeting with Mike Krantz, the Bend police chief, said Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB).
« If you’re or a black person Fan of Lil ‘Kim, you know her importance in hip hop. You also know that she is a gangster rapper, « Krantz said in a video, according to Fox News.
» To be honest, I don’t want to, that Lil ‘Kim d a people out there with paint bites, « he said.
Waites first emailed the police chief to make sure he knew who the singer of » Don’t Mess With Me « was and to explain why it was insensitive to give a police dog the same name, he told OPB.
« While it may be a small or trivial matter for some, it is not for those of us who remember how police dogs were used against peacefully protesting civil rights activists and people of color in the 1960s and are still used as a means of crowd control and intimidation today, ”Waites wrote to the chief.
Police chief Krantz confirmed to the OPB that the Not only would K9 Lil ‘Kim be referred to as Kim, but insisted that the nickname never had anything to do with the rapper, just that the dog was smaller than her peers. Her birthday tribute said the name came from her being « small but mighty ».
Despite official mentions as Lil ‘Kim less than a month ago, Krantz also insisted that the change had nothing to do with complaints would have. « We’ve already raised it internally, and the dog’s name is Kim, » he told OPB.
Still, he admitted, « Although the dog isn’t named after a musician, it’s important to realize that some people do accept or believe.
« I think some community members have historically seen a link to dog use, especially protesters and black community members, and that could create fear of dogs, » he said.
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