A North Carolina police officer was fired on Tuesday after a racist Facebook post he made came to light.
Ricky Soles, the former officer, was terminated by the Chadbourn Police Department for actions unbecoming of a police officer and violating law enforcement code of ethics, according to local news sources.
The decision to terminate Soles’ employment came after his police department grew aware of a Facebook post, now deleted, containing numerous disparaging remarks about black Americans. After his firing, Soles defended the post, saying it did not relate specifically to “any race, religion, sex, culture, age group, [or] movement.”
“This post is in NO WAY racist,” the ex-cop said, insisting he was speaking only of “criminals.”
But Soles’ remarks plainly target black men, women, and children. And his words are not limited to those who act outside the boundaries of the law.
While avoiding naming the race to which he refers—addressing his rant instead using the plural “you”—Soles wrote: “You are NOT victims anymore, You are the bad guys now, You have your hand out for more freebies, You won’t take responsibility for yourself.”
He continued maligning the ways in which he claims blacks Americans treat their spouses, raise their children, and how their children perform in schools. “You don’t raise your children with any morality,” the officer wrote, concluding his tirade adding: “You think you are owed something when you are not.”
The privacy settings on Soles’ post indicate one of his Facebook “friends” leaked the post publicly or delivered it personally to his superiors.
Some citizens of Chadbourn—a town less than 150 miles from where protests continue in Charlotte over the Sept. 20 police shooting of Keith Scott—told local news station WNCN that they were frightened and upset by Soles’ post.
Others, the station said, saw no harm in it.
H/T WNCN
