Stratford Cop Targets Black Lives Matter In Facebook Post

STRATFORD, CT — A Facebook post written by a Stratford police sergeant and aimed at the Black Lives Matter movement was denounced by town officials, and resulted in a meeting between law enforcement and leaders in the Black community.

Sgt. Jamie Rivera published the post Friday on his Facebook page, according to a news release distributed Saturday night by the office of Mayor Laura Hoydick. Saturday afternoon, Rivera attended a meeting with Police Chief Joe McNeil and Greater Bridgeport NAACP President the Rev. Stanley Lord, as well as Executive Committee members Nicola Hall, John Marshall Lee and former Stratford Town Council member Emma Brooks.

The town has taken no administrative action regarding the post, the news release said, but the incident remains under investigation. The news release did not disclose specifics of the post, other than that it targeted the Black Lives Matter movement.

“The sentiments expressed by Sgt. Rivera specific to the Black Lives Matter movement do not reflect our thinking at the Stratford Police Department,” McNeil said in the news release. “I thank Rev. Lord and his executive team for taking the time to sit down with Sgt. Rivera and I, so we could jointly confront the issues surrounding this incident and try to use it as an opportunity that breeds better understanding and cooperation in our community, and with our law enforcement personnel.”

The meeting, which McNeil said was productive, lasted about 90 minutes.

“The meeting was tough, honest, and insightful,” Lord said in the news release. “We look forward to continuing our open dialogue and fostering this must needed relationship.”

Hoydick in the news release called Rivera’s Facebook post “disappointing,” and said Rivera “showed terrible judgment” and his comments do not represent the views of Stratford police or the mayor’s office.

“Police officers occupy a unique position of public trust, and incidents such as this can understandably compromise that standing. When something unfortunate like this takes place, it is essential to take quick and meaningful action, and use the event as an important teaching moment,” Hoydick said in the news release.

McNeil and Lord have plans to collaborate on future discussion sessions with all Stratford police personnel, according to the news release.