Times are a-changing, but not so much in Kentucky. A former Kentucky police officer advised rookie to shoot Black teens caught with pot. This assistant police chief, a man once paid to protect and serve the fine folks of the Bluegrass State, has been ousted and even faces criminal charges after dispensing this advice to a young Louisville Metro Police recruit.
A report from ABC News confirms that Todd Shaw, a twenty-year veteran with the Louisville police force, sent “highly disturbing racist and threatening Facebook messages” to the recruit in the early part of 2017. The officer, who was suspended and later terminated from his position, also told the recruit to sexually abuse the parents of Black cannabis smokers, according to documents provided by Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’ Connell.
Racist Cop Wants to Kill Black Cannabis Smokers
This controversial message exchange stems from a conversation between Shaw and the recruit over “the right thing to do” if he caught black teens smoking marijuana. It was during this discussion that Shaw wrote, “Fuck the right thing. If black shoot them,” reports the Courier-Journal.
At that point, Shaw took his insanity up a notch by suggesting that the recruit sexually manhandle the parents of the dead, Black teens busted for smoking pot. According to O’Connell’s documents, Shaw wrote: “If mom is hot then fuck here. If dad is hot then handcuff him and make him suck my dick. Unless daddy is black. The shoot him.”
In a separate Facebook message, Shaw also told the recruit that housing projects should be torn down.
“For years I have seen the blacks live off uss (sic) and putting them in one big housing area breeds HUGE peoblems (sic),” Shaw wrote. “We don’t see a Muslim problem around here we just see lazy ass people that don’t want to work and that entices more Mexicans to cross the border and take the American jobs … .”
Shaw’s Messages Made Public
Although Shaw did his best to keep the confidential messages from being made public after multiple media sources requested to see them under the state Open Records Act, he just couldn’t keep a lid on them. A judge decided this week to make the messages public domain.
Attorney Michael Burns, legal counsel for Shaw, attempted to paint a portrait of his client as being a dedicated law enforcement officer, who “treated people fairly and respectfully regardless of their race.”
When asked why Shaw would make racial comments to the recruit, the attorney said he was only “playing.”
“His Facebook messages were made privately between colleagues and friends who shared the reality of being police officers in today’s culture where police are demonized and demoralized for doing what is required to keep the community safe,” Burns told the Courier-Journal.
Final Hit: Police Officer Advised Rookie to Shoot Black Teens Caught With Pot
Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad said he was “disgusted by the shocking and appalling” comments.
“Any person who holds these thoughts has no business ever donning a uniform and representing those who have sworn to serve every member of every community,” he said. “These actions spit in the face of the determined effort hundreds of thousands of law enforcement officers put forth to build trust and legitimacy in the communities they serve.”
The prosecutor reportedly discovered Shaw’s messages during a sexual abuse investigation. Shaw was suspected of helping officers cover up incidents of sexual abuse of teens. He was suspended without pay during the investigation. It was only after the prosecutor found that the police officer advised rookie to shoot Black teens caught with pot that he was terminated from the force.
The Urban League wants to see Shaw’s head on a platter.
“We want him prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” the group said in a statement. “He should find no peace in this community.”
