Death Metal Singing Cop Canned

A Sanford Police Officer with a passion for death metal music has found himself jobless after a video of him singing with a band hit YouTube.

While police aren’t normally policed over their taste in music, it seems Sanford Police Chief Cecil B. Smith took issue with this particular performance. Officer Andrew Ricks, as it turned out, happened to be on duty and in uniform at the time of the impromptu performance at the West End Trading Co., several media outlets have reported.

Ricks’ performance took place last week while the band Vital Remains was on stage. The officer helped back up the band during its performance of “Let the Killing Begin,” a song about the crucifixion of Christ. Someone in the crowd shot video of Ricks’ in action and posted it to YouTube. That post was then sent to the police department.

When news of the video broke, Ricks reportedly resigned with a Friday effective date. Smith, however, took him off the beat on Wednesday.

Smith said “an incident of this nature erodes the thin fibers of trust which already exist between the community and police,” the Orlando Sentinel reported. The behavior, he added, “will not be tolerated within the Sanford Police Department.”

Vital Remains is a Rhode Island-based death metal band, its Facebook page indicates. The band has been touring Florida as of late, including a stop at Tampa’s Brass Mug.

Ricks joined the Sanford department in 2010 after a short stint with the Apopka Police Department. It’s unclear what he intends to do now. Ricks has turned down media requests for comment.

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