Cop in Sterling Brown Case Fired Over Social-Media Posts

One of the Milwaukee officers involved in the tasing and arrest of Bucks player Sterling Brown was fired Thursday for violating the police department’s social-media policy, according to a report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Although Police Chief Alfonso Morales did not name the fired officer in his Thursday announcement, the officer who had been under investigation for his social-media content was Erik Andrade. In the hours following Sterling Brown’s arrest, Andrade posted “Nice meeting Sterling Brown of the Milwaukee Bucks at work this morning! Lol#FearTheDeer.” Months later, he reposted a meme mocking NBA star Kevin Durant’s hair. Brown, who was released after his arrest without being charged, cited these posts and others in his civil-rights lawsuit against the department and the city, arguing that the posts demonstrate “an admission that [Andrade] and other Defendant officers are allowed to engage in unlawful attacks and arrests of African Americans without justification and then relish such events without any fear of real discipline.” During his announcement Thursday, Morales apologized for what had transpired: “I told the public form the beginning when we make a mistake we’re going to own it,” he said.”And in that situation we made mistakes and we own those mistakes.”