WASHINGTON – A Facebook post believed to be written by a Baltimore County 911 operator sparked outrage on Monday after it circulated on social media.
“I would rather MY son be approached by so called THUGS, then for him to encounter any policeman,” reads the post. It also says a child killed by police “lays in the street like a dog,” whereas an officer killed has “funeral services that look like a Macy’s parade!!”
Baltimore County officials did not confirm that an employee wrote the post, but did say an employee of that name has worked as a 911 operator for eight years.
Ellen Kobler, spokeswoman for Baltimore County, tells The Baltimore Sun that a 911 call taker’s job does not involve direct contact with police officers.
County Executive Ken Kamenetz issued a statement Monday saying, in part, “individuals are constitutionally protected by the right to free speech, and that protection does not end when someone chooses to become a County employee.”
The Baltimore County Fraternal Order of Police also released a statement, “While we acknowledge this person’s 1st Amendment rights, we must proclaim that under no circumstances do we, as an organization, think this expression is appropriate for this person’s current job in communications.”
