Detroit Police Officers work behind the front desk at the Northeastern District police station in Detroit, Michigan, January 6, 2012.
If you’re a woman and you pass along your height, weight and bra cup size to an outfitter, you probably assume that information is held in strict confidence. If you’re a woman in the Detroit police force, on the other hand, you’re probably wondering why that information wound up in the hands of the rest of the police force.
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Female and male police officers naturally have different body shape requirements when being fitted for specialized safety gear like bulletproof vests, but when Commander Dwayne Love was asked to let officers know that their tailored vests were ready for pickup, the email he sent — which eventually made its way through the department — included the female officers’ height, weight and bra cup size measurements.
“On the third page, the females were listed. Unfortunately and embarrassingly, the cup sizes of the females were listed on that third page, and it was really just a clerical error,” said Assistant Chief James White, according to MyFoxDetroit.
It’s bad timing for a blighted city perennially in the news for its bureaucratic gaffes and political controversies, including recent historic bankruptcy proceedings.
White maintains that the Excel spreadsheet that harbored the sensitive information in Love’s email was sent by accident, calling Love “conscientious” and “very hard working,” though admitting an investigation was ongoing.
“It’s an embarrassing situation, and I’m going to be addressing the issue formally with [Love] over the next couple weeks,” said White, confirming that once the investigation concludes, “there will be corrective action.” That may not be sufficient for some, however: MyFoxDetroit adds that it’s learned several of the female officers have filed grievances against the department, as well as a complaint with the Equal Opportunities Commission. The female officers’ concern, says MFD, is that — innocent mistake or no — they feel “the damage…has already been done.”