FBI Director James Comey said he doesn’t think there's a racism problem in the FBI.
FBI Director James Comey recently made his second visit to the New Haven field office since becoming director nearly two year ago. He said he spoke with local police chiefs about how law enforcement can better participate in the conversation about race and profiling.
Comey -- a Connecticut native -- wanted to keep details of the meeting private but said it was a productive and thoughtful conversation.
Comey told reporters after the meeting on Tuesday that he doesn’t think there is a current racism problem in the FBI. “There’s a racism problem in all human beings, and we have to stare at that -- acknowledge that part of our humanity,” he said. “But no, I think the FBI is in a very good place.”
Comey did express concern over the steady drop in the percentage of minority special agentsover the last decade. “I gotta get folks interested. I gotta get out there, and get talented men and women to give us a shot,” he said.
Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal has called on the Department of Justice and FBI to correct problems linked to flawed hair analysis and other forensic sciences. He is bringing together forensic specialist Henry Lee, lawyers, and legal experts to discuss forensic evidence standards.
The justice department and FBI acknowledged last month that nearly every examiner in the FBI Laboratory’smicroscopic hair comparison unit gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in which they offered evidence against criminal defendants during a more than 20-year period before 2000.
Such hair analysis has been used as key evidence in the wrongful conviction of defendants such as Santae Tribble, who was exonerated in 2012 after spending 32 years in prison.
Quinnipiac law professor Elizabeth Marsh and leaders of the innocence project -- the group that looks into potentially wrongful convictions -- are set to join Blumenthal, Lee, lawyers, and legal experts on Wednesday for a discussion at the University of New Haven.
Lori Mack contributed to this report, which includes information from the Associated Press. Charlie Smart is an intern at WNPR.
