PLAINFIELD, Ind. -- An Indiana police captain who made a comment about "white male privilege" during a diversity training session last month has been cleared to return to work.
The Plainfield Board of Police Commissioners held a special meeting Thursday evening to decide whether Carri Weber would be allowed to resume her position on the police force after she was placed on administrative leave for the comment.
They voted to reinstate her to her current position and place a reprimand her in her permanent file regarding the incident.
The comment came on Nov. 1, at the Police Supervisors Transgender Awareness Training session.
About halfway through the presentation Captain Scott Arndt, a 28-year veteran of the Plainfield Police Department, spoke up, asking questions about a certain statistic presented — that transgender people are 3.32 times more likely to experience police violence, compared to non-transgendered people.
"My life has never been part of police violence," Arndt said. "Most of the people that I know have never been ... accused the police of violence (sic), so I guess I don't get where that statistic comes from."
At that time, Captain Carri Weber interrupted, saying, "Because of your white male privilege, so you wouldn't know."
Arndt was suspended without pay for two days after the incident, for conduct unbecoming a Plainfield Police officer. Weber was placed on paid administrative leave for the Nov. 1 incident and her previous disciplinary history over the past six months, according to a release from the Town of Plainfield.
The Town of Plainfield released the following statement regarding Thursday's decision by the Police Board of Commissioners:
"The decision was made by Plainfield’s Board of Police Commissioners to issue a letter of reprimand but reinstate Captain Weber to her current position. The Town respects the Commissioners’ authority to make this personnel decision. The Town of Plainfield has been and continues to be proud of our participation in sensitivity and cultural training. Plainfield is an inclusive community and while we regret this situation occurred, we welcome the resolution of this matter."
