The announcement of Police Chief Cathy Madalone on Tuesday said that a California officer has been terminated from his position in the Pacific Grove Police Department and is no longer employed in the city “in any capacity” after a racist post on his social media account in Parler last November.
Police Racism
In the written and video statement of Madalone, she said that she could not disclose or comment further because of legal restrictions. “I understand you would like to have more details, and I would like to provide them to you, but based on the law, I am prohibited from commenting any further on this personnel matter,” she said.
In November, the inappropriate post in Parler was “F— Black Lives Matter” and was reported to the department. While waiting on the result of the investigation, the officer from Monterey County was on administrative leave.
“We serve this community with the utmost professionalism. We protect life, prevent crime, and provide support services with understanding, compassion, and integrity,” Madalone said in her statement. She added that officers should continue to provide their service and ensure the safety of residents while also respecting their rights and dignity.
As Madalone addressed the hiring process in the city, she said that Pacific Grove “conducts very robust and comprehensive background investigations.” Madalone noted that since her arrival in 2019, the department has begun reviewing and assessing the social media accounts of applicants to monitor their attitudes and behaviors better.
Strict Training
The police department fully complied with California’s training requirements, Madalone said. The police chief added that members of the department were required to attend advanced training on all aspects of law enforcement on top of the perishable skills and continued professional training.
Ethical decision making, LGBT Community awareness for law enforcement, bias and racial profiling, tactical communications, mental health, de-escalation techniques, social media and law enforcement, exploring racism and living the solution, and law enforcement and transgender community were some of the courses, which the officers in Pacific Grove department has attended, according to Madalone, KRON4 reported.
Despite no information being revealed about the suspect officer, the city noted that the personnel was the same one who had controversial decals painted on his vehicle. The decals were reported last May. However, no additional information about the previous incident is known due to being part of a personnel matter.
