Baltimore Police Officer Suspended For Calling BLM Protesters ‘THUGS’

Former vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3, Lt. Victor Gearhart landed himself in trouble after making controversial comments about Black Lives Matters demonstrators.

A high-ranking official in the Baltimore Police Department has been suspended following a derogatory comment he made concerning BLM protesters in an email he sent to some officials of the departments.

According to the Baltimore Sun, Lt. Victor Gearhart was suspended by Police Commander Kevin Davis on Monday after he referred to protesters at the Maryland Fraternal Order of Police (F.O.P) conference as ‘thugs.’

Gearhart has in the past faced disciplinary actions for similar irresponsible comments. In his email, he wrote: “By now you have seen that the THUGS from BLM and other similar groups have attempted to disrupt the state FOP Convention being held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel,” the email read. “Well, today was check-in day with activities spread over the next 3 days so expect more bad behavior from the THUGS OF BALTIMORE.” He further added that “On the bright side maybe they will stop killing each other while they are protesting us.

T.J. Smith, the spokesman for Baltimore police was quick to react to Gearhart’s careless comment by stating that “This is not representative of the agency and an internal investigation has been launched regarding this. Not only was the Police Commissioner outraged, but so were a number of other officers who complained about the email.”

The protest at the Maryland F.O.P. conference saw the arrest of some 12 demonstrators. Arrested protesters were charged with trespassing offenses after they chained themselves to an escalator inside the Hyatt, The Baltimore Sun reports.

About 60 people turned up for the demonstration. Many were cited in T-shirts with the inscription, ‘Justice 4 Korryn Gaines.’ 23-year-old Gaines was shot dead by a Baltimore County police officer on August 1st after a seven-hour face-off. Her 5-year-old son was also shot in the process.

Ralikh Hayes, the organizer of the protest requested for the break-up of the police union’s 79 chapters statewide, the Sun reports. He further explained the aim of the demonstration by saying, “Our vision is a world where safety and security are not dependent on the enforcers of the state but rather where all people have access to quality food, shelter, health care and education and where racial, economic and gender equality flourish.”

This is a disgrace to the entire Baltimore Police Service. How come such a racist held a high-ranking position in the service? No wonder the police are always quick to shoot Black people. The bigotry unleashed on Black people is by law enforcement is as a result of their erroneous perception about Blacks. Officers such as Gearhart do not deserve to hold any public position because it is obvious he will always be baize in his judgment.

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