SAN JOSE -- Community and civic leaders are roundly denouncing controversial comments posted on the social-media account of a San Jose police officer that surfaced over the weekend, with the cop being placed on administrative leave and being dropped as an assistant basketball coach for a local college.
The provocative, threatening posts on Officer Phillip White's Twitter account were directed toward protesters who have been demonstrating after the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of law enforcement.
The most inflammatory tweets, which evoked the strongest social-media reaction read, "
Threaten me or my family and I will use my God given and law appointed right and duty to kill you. #CopsLivesMatter" and "
By the way if anyone feels they can't breathe or their lives matter I'll be at the movies tonight, off duty, carrying my gun."
On Monday morning, community leaders, particularly advocates for minority groups in the city, continued to call for White's ouster.
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I couldn't believe it was real, that he would put his face out there in the Twittersphere and make these statements as if he's baiting the public to engage in a violent altercation," said Walter Wilson, who sits on the board of the city's African American Community Service Agency. "If this is real, he should not have a gun and a badge. The police department deserves better than this guy."
SJPD Chief Larry Esquivel released a statement addressing the issue Monday afternoon.
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Originally Posted by Inkblots
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