WASHINGTON—TransWorldNews is reporting that Eli Lilly admits it failed to report a noose found outside its Indianapolis headquarters in February. The company said it did not thoroughly investigate the incident until the FBI launched a federal hate crime investigation in March.
Bob Reilley, director of global security for Eli Lilly, stated in a company newsletter recently that on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 9, 2008, a rope with a knotted loop was observed in a tree outside of the parking garage of the Lilly Corporate Center.
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Lilly officials began an internal investigation in cooperation with the FBI several weeks following the incident. This delay may have affected the potential for gathering uncompromised evidence from the alleged crime scene, the publication reported.
Reilley expressed regret that an initial incident report was not handled appropriately and that a thorough investigation was not immediately begun after receiving the report. "We regret that this delay occurred," he said.
Indianapolis FBI Manager of Investigations Special Agent Mark Mahon could not comment on the details of the Eli Lilly investigation, but did say “the more evidence that is available the better the investigation”. He further stated that alleged hate crime investigation has been turned over to the U.S. Department of Justice for further action.
The discovery of the noose is the latest in a series of troubling incidents at the pharmaceutical giant. Last November the NAACP joined in a class action lawsuit brought by hundreds of current and former African American employees to end what they describe as pervasive race discrimination in promotions, terminations, pay, retaliation and racially hostile working environments at Eli Lilly, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. That case, known as Welch et. al v Eli Lilly Co., is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
Dawn Johnson, the security guard who discovered the noose on the Lilly headquarters campus has been terrorized by the experience and referred to the FBI Victims Assistance program for hate crime victims.
Securitas, Eli Lilly’s contracted security company and Johnson’s employer, just earlier this month, moved Johnson’s work assignment away from the Lilly campus and retains financially substantial contracts with the drug manufacturer, TransWorldNews said.
