Police Officer Fired Over Facebook Post Calling BLM Protesters Terrorists
On 5/6/21 at 9:13 AM EDT
A New Jersey town has fired a police officer who referred to Black Lives Matter protesters as terrorists on Facebook.
Hopewell Township, through its council, voted unanimously to terminate the officer, Sara Erwin, on Friday, NJ.com reported this week.
Sgt. Mandy Gray, an officer who reacted to the post, will be suspended for six months and demoted.
The post in question was shared on Facebook in June last year, after the murder of George Floyd triggered protests against police brutality and racial injustice across the nation.
A second officer – Sgt. Mandy Gray – was suspended for commenting on Erwin’s post.
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“Last night as I left for work I had my two kids crying for me not to go to work. I don’t think I’ve ever felt the way I did last night. And then I watched people I know and others I care about going into harms way. I love my police family like my own. So when you share posts and things on Facebook I’d really appreciate if you’d THINK before doing so. I’ve seen so many black lives matter [sic] hashtags in these posts. Just to let you know – they are terrorists. They hate me. They hate my uniform. They don’t care if I die.”
This is not about Black Lives Matter or your opinion of the movement.
This is about whether a decorated police officer should be fired for giving their opinion on their own private Facebook page and whether another officer should be suspended for liking it.
Hopewell Township police officer Sara Erwin, who has over 20 years on the force and serves as a DARE officer in the community, posted this in June of 2020.
“Last night as I left for work I had my two kids crying for me not to go to work. I don’t think I’ve ever felt the way I did last night. And then I watched people I know and others I care about going into harm s way. I love my police family like my own. So when you share posts and things on Facebook I’d really appreciate if you’d THINK before doing so. I’ve seen so many black lives matter [sic] hashtags in these posts. Just to let you know they are terrorists. They hate me. They hate my uniform. They don’t care if I die.”
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