A Seattle police officer is under fire for taking to social media to defend what he described as the so-called militarization of police, and then posting an unflattering rebuke of President Obama as an outright racist.
Sgt. Christopher Hall was speaking of the Ferguson, Missouri, shooting of Michael Brown, 18, and the subsequent chaos when he posted on his personal Facebook account a plea to help raise money for the officer who shot and killed the teen, Darren Wilson, the Stranger first reported.
St. Louis area police were criticized by many for rolling out the militarized gear — including an armored vehicle in response to protests in the streets.
Mr. Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder were also criticized by some for suggesting that the chaos that ensued, pitting police against protesters, was somehow due to a lack of diversity on the part of the police force.
So Mr. Hall took to Facebook to vent.
He first posted, the Stranger said: “If you don’t like the ’militarized’ police, then don’t commit crimes — the odds of you encountering an officer drops dramatically when that single factor changes … Regardless of how you feel about the police, the sheepdogs will continue to protect the resentful sheep from the wolves.”
He also wrote, Raw Story reported: “In light of the Ferguson hashtag, DontShoot, I’m starting the hashtag #DontRobStores and #Dontpunchcops.”
Mr. Hall then blamed “media spin” for the negative publicity that trailed the police in the days after the shooting, and faulted Mr. Obama for some of his widely reported statements and expressions of condolences to Brown’s family.
“Your actions speak louder than words, Mr. President,” Mr. Hall wrote, Raw Story reported. “Your intentional division of this country and overt racism is an embarrassment.”
Mr. Hall posted the comments weeks ago, but the department has yet to decide if he broke policy, Raw Story reported.
Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, a spokesman for the police department, said such “politically-charged speech” is generally allowed, unless officers make the posts during work hours.
“It’s really gray as far as the directive goes,” Mr. Whitcomb said, the Stranger reported. “It you’re on duty and you’re making those remarks, that’s going to get a closer look.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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