POLICE BRUTALITY

Cop Fired Days After Being Sworn in For Racist Social Media Post

A Pleasant Hill, Missouri police officer was fired days after being sworn in because citizens found a racist social media post

Arturo Dominguez
Momentum
Published in
3 min readAug 23, 2023

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Image of Jacob Smith being sworn in as a Pleasant Hill police officer via City of Pleasant Hill’s Facebook page Credit: City of Pleasant Hill

A police officer from Pleasant Hill, Missouri, was suspended with pay after four hours of service and just days after being sworn in. Officer Jacob Smith took his oath on Monday, August 14th, at a city council meeting. Soon after, social media users began looking him up online and found a racist anti-Black meme he posted, according to Pleasant Hill Police Chief Tommy Wright.

This incident highlights the flaws in the hiring process for police departments across the country — resulting in race-based police brutality. Something as simple as vetting an officer’s social media posts is routinely overlooked. Police officers are being found to be members of neo-Nazi gangs in their ranks. In L.A., those gangs even include many Latinos with anti-Black beliefs.

Police officers across the country have been exposed for being members of anti-government extremist groups, associated and working with hate groups like the Proud Boys — including creating small, seemingly unorganized lynch mobs. They have been caught providing cover for those…

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Momentum
Momentum

Published in Momentum

Momentum is a blog that captures and reflects the moment we find ourselves in, one where rampant anti-Black racism is leading to violence, trauma, protest, reflection, sorrow, and more. Momentum doesn’t look away when the news cycle shifts.

Arturo Dominguez
Arturo Dominguez

Written by Arturo Dominguez

Journalist covering Congress, Racial Justice, Human Rights, Cuba, Texas | Editor: The Antagonist Magazine |

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