A 26-year-old police officer has been fired after authorities discovered her old Twitter account where her bio showed she was a ‘KKK member.
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Presley Garcia was initially placed on administrative leave after a local news reporter found her old Twitter account and immediately contacted the police department.
According to The Tampa Bay Times, the account showed the University of South Florida police officer had written ‘KKK member’ in her bio.
Garcia told investigators that the Twitter account was hers but it was a friend who had written ‘KKK member’ in her bio. She also said that she was 21 when the account was created and did not know what KKK meant.
The officer also explained that she wanted to delete the account but decided to delete the app instead.
The investigation found that the Twitter page was created in November 2015 but had only been active until January 2016.
But USF Police Chief Chris Daniel called for Garcia’s termination, saying the now-deleted Twitter page could cause backlash from the community ‘given the activities occurring on a local and national level.’
He also said that it was “reasonable to expect protests and other demonstrations that could disrupt operations of this department and threaten the safety of her co-workers.”
Daniel added: “Since the incident involving George Floyd, dissident members of the community have targeted law enforcement officers, their departments, their families and their homes.”
The investigation confirmed Garcia had no links to the KKK and noted a performance evaluation that said the officer was ‘polite and treats all individuals she meets in the diverse community we serve equally.’
But despite Garcia’s clean record, Daniel decided to fire her, saying: “In the eyes of the public, actions of one member easily translate to the entire organization.”
In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Garcia said she was disappointed by the department’s decision.
“There’s all the talk of “Back the Blue,” but not one person had my back,” she expressed. “It’s very hurtful that something from a long time ago that I didn’t even do has completely destroyed my career.
“There’s no way I’d ever be a part of that group. I wasn’t raised that way.”
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