Facebook post about ‘privilege’ gets Georgia police officer fired, officials say
A Savannah, Georgia police officer has been fired after sharing a Facebook post about “privilege” that critics deemed racist.
Former Advanced Police Officer Edwin Myrick shared a now-deleted post about “privilege,” WTGS reported.
“Privilege is wearing $300 Beats headphones while living on public assistance,” the post said, according to the station. “Privilege is the ability to go march against, and protest against anything that triggers you, without worrying about calling out of work and the consequences that accompany such behavior. Privilege is having as many children as you want, regardless of your employment status, and be able to send them off to daycare or school you don’t pay for...”
Myrick told WSAV that he was talking about how he used government assistance and how “more white people benefit from public assistance than any other race.” “For someone to just assume what I am feeling inside my heart as racism because I am a white police officer is frankly very disappointing,” he told the publication.
The department forwarded the post to the Internal Affairs Division and Myrick was fired after the investigation was completed, according to WTGS, citing officials.
A report by the Savannah Police Department said Myrick was fired for violating the “ethics and conduct” and “social networking and internet use” of the department, according to WSAV.
SPD Sgt. Richard Wiggins said in a transcript, according to WSAV: “APO Myrick stated when he read the post, it did not mean much other than that the post was talking about ‘himself’ in some ways. APO Myrick stated that prior to SPD, he was the Director of Emergency Management for Effingham County. When that position was dissolved, he had to go on government assistance. APO Myrick stated he felt privileged that he was able to take care of his family by reaching out to a resource that was available.”
Bloomingdale, Ga. Mayor Benjamin Rozier shared the same post earlier in June and received backlash and calls to resign, McClatchy News reported.
Rozier said he plans to step down.
“I reposted it without thinking about the times we’re living in right now with so much unrest,” Rozier said, according to WSAV. “I just didn’t think and it’s cost me a job that I really love. I love living here in Bloomingdale and I have a lot of respect for the citizens that have elected me.”
The Bloomingdale City Council and administration wrote in a Facebook post that it doesn’t “condone or endorse” the statement made by the mayor.
“The Bloomingdale City Council wishes to state collectively that this action taken by Mayor Rozier is his action and his action alone. We in no way condone or endorse any single or collective posts made by the Mayor,” the council said in the statement. “The City of Bloomingdale is a Municipal Corporation that is charged with the protection of the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens. This includes all citizens regardless of race, gender, color or creed.”
Protesters have been gathering across the country to call for racial equality and an end to police brutality since George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, died in Minneapolis police custody on May 25.
This story was originally published June 26, 2020 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Facebook post about ‘privilege’ gets Georgia police officer fired, officials say."