A Springfield police officer’s comment in response to an online article generated severe backlash this August 12th. It resulted in him getting fired from the force.
After a white supremacist rally took place in Charlottesville, an article got released recounting the lethal injuries of counter-protesters at the hands of neo-nazi rally attendees.
“Hahahaha love this, maybe people shouldn’t block roadways,” Conrad Lariviere posted on his personal Facebook account. A series of comments were written against Lariviere, who would later reply to one of them, saying, “You ignorant brats live in a fantasy land with the rest of America while I deal with the real danger.”
The comment sparked national outrage, and those who found themselves triggered began an online petition to have him fired. Screenshots of the exchange began to circulate on Facebook and complaints flooded into the Springfield Police Department.
These actions spurred Commissioner John Barbieri into ordering an internal investigation and Mayor Domenic Sarno to strongly condemn the remarks. Lariviere tried clarifying his comments a day after they were made, speaking publicly and telling MassLive:
“Never would I want someone to get murdered. I am not a racist and don’t believe in what any of those protesters are doing. I’m a good man who made a stupid comment and would just like to be left alone.”
“My comments were not intended to support either group, the alt-right or counter-protesters,” Lariviere later wrote in the investigation report. “The object of my comment was to condemn whichever group engaged in disorderly or disruptive conduct which blocked public streets from the use of ordinary citizens.”
Despite finding no racial bias or malice in Lariviere’s comments, the failure to comply with the police department’s rules on off-duty behavior was enough to relieve him of his post. The harm made by the Springfield police officer on a level of public trust decided Lariviere’s future.
Members of the police officers union have criticized the firing, arguing how the comments were made as a “private citizen,” not once mentioning his position as a Springfield police officer. It was only after Lariviere’s comments that the driver’s alleged Nazi sympathies were reported.
Lariviere didn’t know “if the operator of the vehicle was an alt-right demonstrater, a counter-demonstrator, or someone completely uninvolved.” His point was that disorderly behavior such as rioting in the streets has serious consequences, and both sides are equally responsible.
He was condemning both protesting sides for causing a “public safety crisis.”
This article was inspired by BuzzFeed // A Cop Has Been Fired For Writing “Hahahaha Love This” On A Facebook Post About The Deadly Car Attack In Charlottesville