Medford Officer Apologizes for Facebook Post

MEDFORD, MA - A Medford police officer apologized for posting an image on Facebook which showed a mushroom cloud with a caption suggesting violence against Muslims.

Officer Jason Montalbano posted the image, which was captioned, “Japan has been at peace with the U.S. since September 2, 1945. It’s time we made peace with Islam.”

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Montalbano apologized Wednesday afternoon in front of reporters at the Medford Police Training Academy.

“I did not intend to demean Islam or Muslims in general, nor do I personally harbor any ill will towards Islam or Muslims in general,” he said.

Montalbano said he mistook the image asanti-ISIS.

"My intention in posting it on my private Facebook page was to support an aggressive military action against the ISIS terrorist threat."

An internal probe is investigating the incident.

Montalbano, who has been on the job for 18 years, is listed as a traffic officer in the Accident Investigations Unit on the Medford Police website.

“All will be held to the highest of standards, no excuses,” Medford Mayor Stephanie Burke told FOX25. “The use of social media needs to be taken into consideration by all city employees. Police officers are held to a high standard and should be mindful when posting to their personal accounts.”

Photo courtesy of WHDH, 7-News