Volunteer police officer resigns amid racist comments
A volunteer police officer has quit after a Cleveland publication exposed racist comments he made about blacks on YouTube videos.
The Cleveland Scene first reported that Aaron McNamara had a position as a volunteer officer as he finished college in preparation for a full-time job with the Fairview Police Department when his comments came to light.
According to the Scene, McNamara like to hang out in the YouTube comment area, where he was caught “regularly dropping racial and gay slurs, unambiguously expressing hatred towards minorities and anyone who dare not comply with what police say.”
For example, “jungle monkeys” and “spooks” were some of the milder slurs the officer used for African-Americans.
“Abolishing slavery was the worst thing we could have done,” McNamara opined. “These people should be exterminated.. Unbelievable.”
On a video of a man on a bicycle being tackled by officers, McNamara wrote that the suspect deserved it “BECAUSE THE FEMININE FAGGOT WAS ELUDING THE POLICE AND FAILING TO STOP! DUMB ASS GENERATION!”
McNamara argued that it was “absolutely ridiculous that the police are criticized” for killing Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy who was gunned down by cops less than 3 seconds after they arrived.
The Scene confronted McNamara about the remarks. He insisted that he wasn’t “the only Aaron McNamara in this world” in an attempt to deny the comments.
Minutes later, McNamara privatized his Twitter account, shut down his Instagram account and deactivated his Google+ and YouTube pages.
In a statement, Fairview Park Police Chief Erich Upperman said that the city “does not tolerate this type of conduct from any person working or volunteering for this city.”
“This is the first we are hearing of this and it will be immediately and appropriately investigated. During his brief tenure with our agency, the volunteer never displayed any prejudicial leanings, nor did any arise during his background check,” the chief noted.
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