A Chicago police officer has been suspended and could be fired over a series of insensitive religious and racial Facebook posts, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday.
Officer Brian J. Hansen was suspended to desk duty in August after he made Facebook posts that appeared to target Muslims and minorities, according to the Tribune. He was also accused of parking his Chevrolet Equinox outside the Chicago Police Department while sporting a bumper sticker that read, “All lives splatter. Nobody cares about your protest.” The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) argued that “there can be no doubt, based on PO Hansen’s Facebook activity and vehicle decals, that PO Hansen cannot live out this mission.”
The COPA does not have the power to terminate Hansen, however, and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson has three months to decide whether to recommend the officer for firing. The case would then be taken up by the Chicago Police Board, which would make the final decision regarding his termination.
“Alarmingly, PO Hansen also openly advocated for ‘civil war,’ encouraged people to settle their differences through violence, and even publicly supported the ‘code of silence,'” the COPA report read.
The code of silence is the tendency of police to go to great lengths to avoid incriminating fellow officers. (RELATED: Chicago Cops Chewed Out For ‘Taking A Knee’ For Kolin Kaepernick)
Hansen insisted that all of his posts on social media were made in good humor and were protected by the First Amendment. COPA argued the frequency of the posts indicated he wasn’t joking about holding the insensitive opinions, and argued that his freedom of speech didn’t apply because he was a representative of the police department.
“Hansen’s speech has the potential to create problems in maintaining the discipline and harmony in the department,” COPA wrote. “Department members are as diverse as Chicago itself and include many of the same groups PO Hansen openly disparages including black people and Muslims.”
Send Tips: anders@dailycallernewsfoundation.org
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.