PLEASANTVILLE,
N.Y. — A village police officer has been suspended and could be fired after
apparently posting a racist, obscenity-laced rant about President Obama on his
Facebook page.
"The
fact that he (Obama) is still alive bewilders me," Officer Peter Burns
allegedly wrote in the post, which The Journal News obtained Thursday. "Go
die in a shallow grave you Muslim commie ..."
The
post, time-stamped Dec. 11 on a Facebook profile page Burns is accused of operating
under the name "Coon Trapper," contained a racial slur, made
reference to "1st amendment NSA," and described Obama as
"un-American."
After
being shown a screen grab of the vulgar diatribe late Monday afternoon,
Pleasantville Police Chief Richard Love said he was unaware of the post but
would take immediate action. On Tuesday, Love announced that Burns had been
relieved of his duties and placed on paid administrative leave.
The
Facebook post contained "despicable statements," Love said in a
statement. He said the comments "are totally unacceptable and will not be
tolerated."
Once
an internal affairs investigation is complete, "the police department will
consider all legal options, including the possibility of commencing
disciplinary proceedings against the police officer, which could lead to his
dismissal," Love said. Pleasantville is a village of 7,000 people about 30
miles northeast of New York City.
The
statement did not identify Burns by name.
The
Facebook profile page, which was deleted Tuesday morning, contained photos of
Burns in hunting gear and camouflage, and included links to hunting and animal
trapping websites. The page's settings were private, meaning that only those
who "friended" Burns had access to the Obama post and others on his
Facebook page.
“The
fact that he (Obama) is still alive bewilders me. Go die in a shallow grave you
Muslim commie.”
—
Coon Trapper Facebook post
Burns,
35, could not be reached for comment. He was hired in 2004 and receives an
annual salary of $98,959. Officer Matthew Listawn, president of the
Pleasantville Police Benevolent Association, is on bereavement leave and could
not be reached.
"We
deplore racism in any form," Mayor Peter Scherer said. He said he could
not comment further because the Village Board of Trustees would hear the case
should disciplinary charges be filed against Burns.
Some
have portrayed village police as racist following the shooting death of Danroy
Henry, a black Pace University football player. In the Oct. 17, 2010, incident
that took place outside a bar Thornwood, N.Y., just south of Pleasantville,
Officer Aaron Hess, who is white, shot Henry as he started to drive away.
Hess
had joined a number of Mount Pleasant officers responding to reports of a
disturbance involving a large crowd. Hess, who ended up on the hood of Henry's
car, was injured and has since retired. The case has resulted in a number of
lawsuits.
The
20-member Pleasantville department includes one black, one Hispanic and two
female officers among its ranks.
"The
fact that a cop can say something like that about the president shows that
there are deep racial issues within law enforcement," said Damon Jones,
president of the Westchester chapter of Blacks in Law Enforcement of America.
"It's something our elected officials have to pay attention to. There
should be racial sensitivity training in every police department with oversight
to make sure that it's being done properly and being taken seriously."
The
Pleasantville incident is the latest of similar cases of cops getting into hot
water over controversial Facebook postings:
•
In October, the police chief in Austin, Texas, suspended a detective for 10
days for posting what he called sensitive law-enforcement information — photos
of interrogations and crash scenes — on his Facebook page.
•
Last year, 17 New York City cops were suspended for posting racist and
offensive comments on a Facebook page devoted to the city's 2011 West Indian
Day Parade.
•
In 2009, three Harrison, N.Y., police officers were suspended and demoted after
making lewd comments about then-Supervisor Joan Walsh and swapping racist jokes
about Obama.
Those
episodes and similar incidents across the country have prompted many police and
government agencies to adopt social media policies for their employees.
Pleasantville does not have such a policy.
