Fort Lauderdale Police Officer Fired Over Facebook Comments

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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – Another Fort Lauderdale police officer is off the force, accused of making racist comments on social media.

Police documents obtained by CBS4 News show that veteran officer Jeffrey Feldewert received a letter from Chief Franklin Adderley on June 11th informing him that he was being suspended without pay and would be fired in July.

Feldewert's firing comes just months after four other officers were fired or quit after a series of text messages and a racist video surfaced.

The chief says Feldewert made comments on social media that were biased against blacks.

When police arrested several African-Americans at a Coral Springs restaurant in late 2014 for a fight, the story made its way onto Facebook.

Feldewert took notice and commented saying, "typical hoodrat behavior."

Investigators also said the officer then shared a picture of a black man being arrested that had the caption:

"Black People. Because without them the evening news wouldn't be as much fun to watch.

In another posting, investigators said Feldewert had a profile picture of a skull wrapped in an American flag with a Fort Lauderdale police badge on it and the partial words "Savage Hunter" underneath.

"It's a clear message that we can't trust the police," said Gordon Weekes, the chief assistant public defender for Broward County.

He said the words 'Savage Hunter" were also used in this racist video which – along with a series of racist text messages – played a role in four other Fort Lauderdale officers being fired or quitting the force in early 2015.

"It strikes fear in the whole community when you believe that officers are going to treat you differently and hunt you down like a savage simply because you're black," said Weekes.

Fort Lauderdale police said they do not believe Feldewert's actions are connected to the other officers.

Jasmen Rogers, a community activist, does not believe that.

"It's upsetting that these are the people on our streets, patrolling our communities – our predominantly black communities – that think it's humorous to see black people behind bars and brutalized," said Rogers.

Weekes said the Public Defender's Office is now reviewing about 14 cases that Feldewert was a witness in to see if there was any bias in the arrest.

Prosecutors said they are confident that Feldewert was not a crucial witness in any cases.

But Weekes wonders if the video, texts and Facebook posts indicate a much larger problem at Fort Lauderdale PD.

"It seems like the tip of the iceberg and there may be really something going on inside that police department that needs to be investigated," said Weekes.

The Fort Lauderdale police chief and the mayor of Fort Lauderdale were both out of town and could not be reached for comment.

The police union said Feldewert is going to appeal his firing and fight to keep his job.

CBS4 reached out to Feldewert, but he declined to talk about the case.

In:
• Fort Lauderdale Police
• Ft. Lauderdale
• Broward County