A Seattle police officer is under fire for using the slur “fag” on his Twitter account as well as making troubling statements about race.
The Stranger has unearthed some questionable tweets about gays and blacks from officer Anthony Reynolds.
Responding to a tweet that depicted Mayor Ed Murray meeting with black community leaders amid the unrest in Ferguson around November 2014, Reynolds tweeted:
“What @Mayor_Ed_Murray is doing is segregating by race and by definition racist.”
Reynolds even confirmed his views with investigator Susanna Monroe with the Office of Professional Accountability in the following bizarre exchange:
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MONROE: …So your, your response, you, you’re pointing out the, your belief that the Mayor meeting with a specific race group is in itself racist?
REYNOLDS: Correct.
MONROE: Do you believe that that comment was disparaging or… well, or takes away from the effectiveness of the Department?
REYNOLDS: No.
Reynolds also has disparaging words for the LGBTQ community.
In 2013, he tweeted “what a fag” at former Fear Factor host Joe Rogan.
In response to the allegations of homophobia, Reynolds says that it was “sort of an ironic joke” and denies any antigay sentiment.
Reynolds was given a verbal reprimand and forced to take retaining on the department’s social media policy.
He continues to work the beat in Seattle.
