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A Massachusetts police division that beforehand decried racism has rehired certainly one of its former cops who retired following consideration to his racist social media posts that inspired police brutality towards protesters and wished hurt to immigrants.
Particularly, Michael Wilk posted about his want for law enforcement officials to shoot individuals looting in New York Metropolis, shared a picture of a purported immigrant being harm by razor wire whereas crossing the border and seemingly supported the thought of law enforcement officials kneeling on suspects in a misguided comparability between to Colin Kaepernick‘s kneeling protest of the nationwide anthem and Derek Chauvin murdering George Floyd, in keeping with MassLive.
It was in that context that the Chicopee Police Division not solely determined Wilk was worthy of being rehired, however Chicopee’s mayor — who moved to take away Wilk from his job as division spokesperson in June of final 12 months — inexplicably defended the choice to place the disgraced, doubtless racist cop again on the payroll.
Bishop Talbert Swan, the president of the NAACP’s chapter in Springfield, despatched an e mail to Chicopee Mayor John Vieau questioning the choice to rehire Wilk.
“One 12 months in the past, after discovering racist social media posts by Officer Michael Wilk, you said, ‘Racism has no place right here in our metropolis…no place in any respect,” Swan wrote partly to Vieau. “The Chicopee metropolis council unanimously handed a decision to declare racism as a public well being disaster. You additional said, ‘We is not going to tolerate racism or hate on this metropolis,’” Swan reminded the mayor.
Swan added later: “It’s laborious to fathom the rationale as to why Officer Wilk has been rehired a 12 months after retiring following public outcry over his racist actions.”
Vieau, in flip, defended Wilk’s rehiring as a result of he mentioned the job wouldn’t be in the identical capability as his former place. It will seem the mayor is making an attempt to justify rehiring Wilk as a result of Wilk was by no means truly fired. As an alternative, he was prolonged the privilege of retiring.
Racist social media posts from public servants like law enforcement officials and firemen are hardly a brand new phenomenon. Nevertheless, the scenario in Chicopee appeared to be one of many first situations of a police officer who was ousted for racist actions being rehired by the identical division.
Racist sentiments just like these expressed by Wilk on social media have been on the heart of a hearth chief in South Carolina who in April was positioned on depart after he wrote on Fb that cops ought to simply ignore requires assist that come from Black communities.
“Pricey Police, cease responding to those black neighborhoods,” McDonald Inexperienced Volunteer Hearth Division Chief Francis “Butch” Ghent wrote in a since-deleted standing replace that was posted on April 22. “They may finally kill one another and the faux information received’t have a narrative.”
That is America.
SEE ALSO:
HBCU Police Included On Rising Checklist Of Cops Punished For Offensive Social Media Posts
New Database Reveals 1000’s Of Cops Publicly Submit Racist and Professional-Violent Views To Fb
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