Posted on 08/10/2013 10:37:34 AM PDT by Uncle Chip
A Volusia County Beach Safety officer accused of sending insensitive racial messages at the end of last month’s Trayvon Martin trial was fired Friday for unprofessional conduct — or what county officials called “horrible judgment made worse during a racially charged atmosphere.”
Todd Snipes, 45, a Volusia lifeguard for 24 years and a law enforcement officer for 15, “engaged in behavior that threatens the respect and trust of the community and jeopardizes the perception that the department enforces the law fairly, even-handedly and without bias,” Department of Public Protection Director George Recktenwald wrote in Snipes’ notice of dismissal.
Reached Friday night, Snipes referred all questions to his attorney, Jason Harr, who could not be contacted.
Snipes’ messages included a Facebook post the night after George Zimmerman’s acquittal that read: “Another thug gone. Pull up your pants and be respectful. Bye bye thug r.i.p.”
He was also involved in an exchange of a series of racially tinged picture messages that included a cartoon of Trayvon Martin, holding a bag of Skittles. The words across the cartoon were: “Those Skittles were to die for.”
“The racial content of these text messages is not only unprofessional, but disturbing coming from a supervisor of Volusia County Beach Safety,” Recktenwald wrote.....
“As a result of your actions, when you or another officer in the department make an arrest of a minority, members of that community may assume that the arrests are a product of bias, rather than well-founded protective law enforcement.”
Snipes has 10 days to appeal the firing to the county manager through Volusia’s personnel board.
(Excerpt) Read more at news-journalonline.com ...
Well that was a disappointment. First, because I agree with the officer and strongly object to his firing. Second, because why click on the link to the article when they offer no means to comment on it and register any objections?
“Another thug gone.”
True, but apparently we live in an era when the truth itself is “controversial.”
Ive been unable to locate this Todd Snipes Facebook Page.
One has to wonder whether its been scrubbed!
New term in the liberal progressive dictionary folks. “Thug bias”.
Since when is “insensitive comments” grounds for firing, ostracizing, and projected insensitivity, intolerance, AND hate??
Even an honest member of a minority would have to admit that Trayvon’s thuggish behavior got him killed.
Is that the “angel”?? Lol...
Could someone please point out the "racial content" of the messages???
Is a "thug" always black??? Do only blacks eat Skittles???
Where is the racial content there???
That's like finding a needle in a haystack.
If he was posting as an individual, he has 1st Amendment Rights which were infringed upon.
Call a lawyer!
I hope he sues the city out of existence. The First Amendment lives.
Geez, the article talks of FB entries, which neither are racist. Anti thug yes! Hope the guy is in a union or at least has civil service status so he can bring a lawsuit re. freedom of speech,
The article states that he referred all questions to his attorney.
You can thank Julison Communications (Ryan Julison) and Ben Crump (Martin family attny) for the lie told by that backdated image.
These people have poisoned the public mind with their outrageous lies, they need to be held accountable.
There are too many who believe the lie is truth. Another example of the lies:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3053073/posts?page=1
And this lie is in the rotunda of the Florida Capitol!
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