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Soldier, Police Officers In Trouble For Social Media Posts About Protests

BOSTON (CBS) - While thousands took to the streets to protest the death of George Floyd, a few police officers took to social media with controversial postings.

There was also a threatening Instagram message from a soldier with the Massachusetts National Guard that said "you're all stupid I can't wait to shoot you tomorrow night "

Ed Davis, former Boston Police Commissioner and WBZ-TV security analyst, calls it "a threat to commit a crime."

"When a soldier says something like that publicly it's dangerous and a bigger problem for the organization, it has to be stopped," Davis said.

That soldier is now under investigation and has been placed on inactive status.

In Chicopee Tuesday night at a city council meeting, Mayor John Vieau apologized after the police department's public information officer Michael Wilk posted a comment that appeared to equate former NFL player Colin Kaepernick taking a knee with the Minneapolis officers involved in the death of George Floyd.

Mayor Vieau said, "Officer Wilk has been removed from his position as PIO for Chicopee Police Department. Let me be very, very, clear racism has no place in our city period."

Earlier in the day, the mayor of Salem put Captain Kate Stephens on administrative leave after she allegedly used the official department Twitter account to tweet disparaging comments about Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Governor Charlie Baker for allowing the protests.

"Many officers have said to me over the years well that's my right of free speech," Davis said. "But you don't have a right to impugn the reputation of the organization that you work for to the point where the community no longer trusts you. And if you do, the highest discipline can be imposed against you. You face discipline up to the point of termination."

Officer Wilk and Captain Stephens did not respond to our request for comment.

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