Governor Jim Justice (R-WV) has approved a recommendation that over 30 members of the correctional officer trainee group “Basic Training Class 18” be fired after a photo of the cadets engaging in a Nazi salute was distributed inside graduation materials.
“As I said from the beginning, I condemn the photo of Basic Training Class 18 in the strongest possible terms,” says Justice, according to a press release. “I also said that this act needed to result in real consequences — terminations and dismissals. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated on my watch in any agency of State government.”
According to an investigation conducted by the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, Division of Corrections, “the hand gesture was found to have started in the second or third week of the Academy session as one that the cadets have described as a ‘sign of respect’ for [the instructor, Karrie Byrd]. The gesture was started by one of the class members, and other class members began using it as well.”
“Several cadets recognized it for its historical implications and refused to go along with the class. Others who knew the implications of the gesture felt pressure to fit in and joined in,” continues the report. “Some of these class members voiced their concerns to classmates. Those voicing concerns were assured by those comfortable with the gesture, that since there was no racial motivation on their part, the gesture was acceptable.”
Byrd, who feigned ignorance about the meaning of the salute and was fired in December, was explicitly told about the connotations by other corrections officers, according to investigators. Byrd also allegedly told a secretary who reviewed the photo for the graduation materials that the cadets were making the salute “because [she is] a hard-a** like Hitler.”
Investigators say that Byrd chose to ignore the warnings of other officers, and even “encouraged” the salute, “reveled in it, and at times reciprocated the gesture.”
Documents obtained by West Virginia Public Broadcasting show earlier this month show that Byrd taught multiple subjects, including “Cultural Diversity.” Nonetheless, the report reveals that the picture was taken at Byrd’s direction, and multiple trainees told investigators that Byrd had them retake the picture “due to not everyone participating in the gesture.”
According to the report, 10 trainees told investigators that they feared they wouldn’t graduate unless they obeyed Byrd’s order. A total of seven trainees refused to make the salute even after Byrd told them to do so, but held up a closed fist “in order to comply with Byrd’s direction but not make the gesture,” says the report. In the picture, six people can be seen holding up a fist.
Jeff Sandy, the cabinet secretary for the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, condemned the actions of the cadets, saying that their conduct has damaged the reputation of the department and negatively impacted “morale across the workforce.”
The report concludes that investigators did not find “overt motivation or intent that [the gesture] was a discriminatory act towards any racial, religious, or ethnic group. Rather, contributing factors included poor judgment, ignorance, peer pressure, and fear of reprisal.”
According to the Associated Press, a spokesman for the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety announced Tuesday that the department will go through a Holocaust education program put on by a regional chapter of the Anti-Defamation League.