Gretna, Louisiana, Cop Who Posted AOC "Deserves a Round" on Facebook Is Fired
July 23rd 2019
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @ SXSW 2019 (nrkbeta)
By durrati (From the Daily Kos community)
Gretna, Louisiana police officer Charlie Rispoli who posted a fake news story about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and commented she "needs a round"...and I don't mean the kind she used to serve.” has been fired, along with a fellow office who “liked” the post, after an apparent “tidal wave” of protest rolled into the Gretna Police Department over the weekend.
“The Gretna Police Department fired two officers Monday after an incident in which one posted a comment on Facebook last week that suggested U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez should be shot.
The author of the post, Charlie Rispoli, and another officer who "liked" it, Angelo Varisco, have been fired, Gretna police chief Arthur Lawson announced at a press conference Monday afternoon.
“This incident, we feel, has been an embarrassment to our department," he said. "These officers have certainly acted in a manner which was unprofessional, alluding to a violent act be conducted against a sitting U.S. (congresswoman), a member of our government (and) we are not going to tolerate that.”
Chief Lawson was surprised that any of his officers could be so stupid, particularly after his Dept. had printed out warnings explaining that Philadelphia had taken 72 officers off the street because of similar social media abuse.
Lawson did the right thing here, but he also volunteered that an outpouring of public outrage had informed his decision.
“Lawson also noted that his office was besieged by phone calls over he weekend, calling the incident “a ripple in a pond that became a tidal wave.”
And made excuses for the officer:
“Lawson denied requests by the media to release photos of Rispoli and Varisco. He repeated that he does not think the post constituted a legitimate threat. He said he spoke to both officers, and described Rispoli as remorseful and as a typically mild-mannered person who made a bad decision “in the heat of the moment.”
Congratulations to all that called or emailed to put the heat on the Chief to do some housecleaning.
Now he needs to flag the offender’s file to make sure the punishment sticks and Rispoli and his cohort are not hired to wear a badge in the next parish over.
They have no business in law enforcement.
But it sounds like they’d fit right into Trump’s DHS…
Posted with permission