Public Outcry Follows Stratford Cop's Facebook Post Targeting BLM

STRATFORD, CT — A social media controversy in Stratford moved offline Monday when residents took their concerns to the Town Council after a local police official published a Facebook post targeting the Black Lives Matter movement.

“How can we trust his split-second judgment with dealing with minorities in that critical time, when we need their help, not their violence?” former councilwoman Stephanie Philips asked during the public forum before Tuesday’s council meeting.

In the Facebook post that led officials and residents alike to question his judgment, Sgt. Jamie Rivera called Black Lives Matter “a terrorist organization” that “call for the killing of cops.” He also expressed his support for President Donald Trump in the post, published Friday, and made reference to suicide among police officers, and to Friday being World Suicide Prevention Day. An image of the post was shared across social media.

On Saturday, Rivera attended a meeting with Police Chief Joe McNeil and officials from the Greater Bridgeport NAACP. The office of Mayor Laura Hoydick issued a news release later that night about the post. The town has taken no administrative action against Rivera, but he remains under investigation. Rivera did not respond to a voice message left Monday afternoon.

Many speakers at the forum Monday, held via teleconference, felt action against Rivera was warranted. Suggestions included firing him, suspending him and requiring him to undergo counseling and bias training, and conducting an investigation and issuing a report upon its completion.

“We would like the (Town) Council to act swiftly,” said Rev. D. Stanley Lord, the Greater Bridgeport NAACP president. “There has to be some ramifications for a man who holds a leadership role within the police department.”

Members of the public also addressed Rivera’s characterization of Black Lives Matter.

“Black Lives Matter is not a terrorist organization, nor is the Black Lives movement targeting police officers,” Philips said.

Sonya Huber, of Stratford, noted a recent Black Lives Matter rally in town was “huge and peaceful.” Town resident Kim Rice said the situation with Rivera demonstrated a need for civilian review boards.

“He brings his belief systems into his job and this is a problem,” she said.

Systemic racism in Stratford was a topic of discussion among both residents and officials. Multiple members of the public referenced Councilwoman Kaitlyn Shake, who they said had requested a statement from the council affirming that Black Lives Matter is not a terrorist organization and had called for the declaration of racism as a public health crisis.

Shake is expected to bring a proposal related to racism in Stratford before the council in October. She asked Hoydick on Monday why the town did not explicitly specify in its recent news release that Black Lives Matter is not a terrorist group.

Hoydick replied that no one on the council or in the mayor’s administration said they agreed with Rivera.

“This administration does not believe it is a terrorist organization,” Hoydick eventually said, before asking Shake if she thought Black Lives Matter was a terrorist group, to which Shake responded that she did not think the organization was a terrorist group.

Hoydick then took issue with what she said were misrepresentations of Stratford in a prepared statement by Lord about Rivera’s Facebook post. In the statement, Lord said the Greater Bridgeport NAACP initially requested Rivera’s termination but was told by McNeil that Rivera would not be fired. Lord’s statement added that the termination of one official would not change larger cultural issues.

“There has been a long history of racist behavior connected to the town of Stratford and its Police Department,” Lord said in the statement, adding he hoped the department would develop more robust bias training and make an effort to attract candidates of color.

Hoydick said Monday she planned to meet with Lord about his statement, and noted that the Stratford Police Department has the highest ratio of minority employees of any department in town, at 25 percent.

Lord has been invited to address Stratford police during roll call and to be more involved in department training and programs.

Citizens Addressing Racial Inequality and the Stratford Democratic Town Committee have both issued statements condemning Rivera’s Facebook post.