Photo by Paul KnightA senior captain in the Houston Fire Department kept a noose hanging in his locker, and according to the Houston Black Firefighters Association, the fire department, city council and mayor haven't taken the incident seriously. "They basically gave him a slap on the wrist," firefighter Michael McCook tells Hair Balls. "The mayor said that he was probably just practicing tying knots, but there are no tactical procedures performed with a hangman's noose."The whole thing started
The beleaguered Houston Fire Department got some support today from a vice-president of the local chapter of the NAACP, who said in a press conference that he accepted that a noose-like rope found in a station locker was not intended to be a racial symbol.Reverend D.Z. Cofield said he had conducted a "thorough investigation" into the rope owned by Captain Keith Smith and Smith "has been vilified."For his part, Smith offered a seemingly sincere apology, saying the rope was used for practicing
