Ryan Snow, a Hoover, Alabama police officer, was fired Friday after posting a picture of a protester in the crosshairs of a rifle scope on social media.
Nicholas Derzis, the Hoover Police Chief, said Snow admitted he shared the image on his personal social media account in response to the protests over the death of Rayshard Brooks, according to local news reports.
Snow made the racially charged post on Facebook Tuesday in response to an article posted about protesters at the Atlanta, Georgia Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks was murdered.
Snow, who spent four years with the department, responded to an article headline that read, “Armed protesters remain at Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks was killed. So what’s next?” The article was accompanied by a photo of a Black protester holding a shotgun.
Snow reposted the photo of the protester but altered it to show the Black protester in the crosshairs of a rifle scope, with the caption, “Exhale. Feel. Pause. Press steadily. That’s what’s next.”
Derzis said department officials were made aware of the “disturbing” post-Wednesday morning. “When I saw the post and the image, it sickened me,‘’ Derzis said. “It certainly did not adhere to the standards expected of every officer who wears our uniform. We’re not going to allow one officer to tarnish the reputation of the Hoover Police Department.”
The president of Birmingham Justice League, Carlos Chaverst, who organized protests in 2018 after Hoover police shot and killed Emantic “EJ” Bradford, released a statement following news of the officer’s firing.
“Hoover Police Department show time and time again, they have no regard for black lives. Their officers continue to show disrespect to the movement and what we are protesting for. We appreciate Hoover Police for acting swiftly, but firing an officer isn’t enough,” Chaverst said. “The departments’ name has already been tarnished when there were no charges brought by an officer for killing Emantic “Ej” Bradford Jr inside the Riverchase Galleria November 22, 2018. This officer can now go to another department and do the exact same thing. Hoover should implement real policy changes to ensure this doesn’t happen again. If they don’t it’s merely a bandaid on a gunshot wound. Hoover, continue to punish your officer for doing wrong as you do us, but this is about policy, not firing.”
