Melissa Adamson, a part-time police officer in Pennsylvania, lost two jobs after posting a racial slur to her Snapchat account.
The post in question was a Snapchat of Adamson in her police uniform with the caption “I’m the law today n***a.” The Snapchat predictably went viral (when don’t they?) so when Mayor Michael Cherepko of McKeesport got wind of the photo, he swiftly fired Adamson from her position after just a week on the job. I hope it was worth it.
Via McKeesport Facebook:
As Mayor of the City of McKeesport, I feel compelled to publicly address an issue that has come to my attention via social media. A past social media post surfaced just a few hours ago involving a recently hired part-time police officer, who has been in training as a probationary employee for just a few weeks. This post displays a degree of conduct and character that is far different from what I would expect from an officer in this city. It is absolutely unacceptable. Without hesitation, my office and the police chief’s office immediately concluded that this officer’s actions will not be tolerated in the City of McKeesport. She has been relieved of her duties, and her employment has been terminated.
Furthermore, local Pittsburgh news station WTAE reports that Adamson also had to step-down from her SECOND part-time job due to the photo. Adamson also worked part-time as a police officer in Versailles. She resigned from that job Tuesday, for which the department released a statement on their Facebook.
Via Pitcairn Police Facebook:
There has been a picture circulating around of an ex female employee of the Pitcairn Police Department. As the picture alone does not constitute misconduct, it is symbolic speech and protected under the first amendment.However,it is the content of the text in the picture which is unacceptable. The Pitcairn Police Department holds high integrity for the community we serve and this type of conduct will not be tolerated.
As for Adamson’s frankly dumbass, her responses were relatively predictable.
Via WTAE:
“I’m not a racist. That’s not how I plan on portraying myself. I love my job. I love what I do. It’s what I want to do it for the rest of my life.”
“Everyone that knows me knows I don’t have a racist bone in my body. And people who don’t know me, I can understand why it was misconstrued to where it looks racist. But like I said, everyone who knows me knows I’m not racist.”
Adamson said she knows it was “a stupid mistake” to post the picture, which she said is now being circulated maliciously.
I don’t doubt she’s not racist. Believe it or not, despite recent headlines and the general state of the country, most people are decent people and aren’t racist, so I’ll give Adamson the benefit of the doubt on this one. What I’m not doubting though is that she’s a full blown idiot who probably shouldn’t be working in law enforcement if her judgement is that bad.
[h/t WTAE]
