FBI rules hanging stuffed monkey in St. Louis fire station was no hate crime

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A hanging stuffed monkey found inside a St. Louis fire station was not a hate crime, the FBI has ruled.

The doll was discovered earlier this month. An association of black firefighters distributed pictures showing the doll wearing a striped shirt and overalls, draped by its neck from a strap on a coat hanger.

City officials asked the FBI to investigate amid suggestions that the strap might have been intended to emulate a noose.

While the incident may have unintentionally provoked tempers in a department already racially divided following the ouster of Fire Chief Sherman George, who is black, earlier this year, the FBI said Thursday that the incident was not motivated by race.

"There was no noose," said John Gillies, special agent in charge of the FBI office here. "No noose. No hatred." The stuffed animal, Gillies said, had been in the fire department for weeks.

The president of the firefighters' union, Local 73, has said the monkey had been found at a fire scene and placed on the coat rack to dry. Gillies also dismissed as a "firehouse prank" an apparent response at another station. There, a box of crackers was hung up.

However, Gillies said the FBI uncovered potential violations of internal policies that could be investigated later by the fire department. Gillies declined to identify the nature of what was found.

Also, the FBI continues to look into threats generated by the monkey incident and left in the comment section of an Internet blog.

A final report from the FBI is still pending, and Mayor Francis Slay's office said the fire department won't launch its own review until receiving that report.

The incidents came at a racially-charged time following George's removal in October. George was forced out after refusing to make promotions because of concerns over an exam some thought was biased against black applicants. He was replaced by Dennis Jenkerson, who is white.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com