Fall River Police Captain Suspended For Mistakenly Posting About George Floyd Verdict On Department Account

FALL RIVER (CBS) – A Fall River police captain has been suspended without pay for 30 days after mistakenly posting on the department's Facebook page following the George Floyd verdict.

An independent investigation was released by Police Chief Jeffrey Cardoza on Wednesday.

The post, which was shared a short time after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death, said "Chauvin calmly placed his hands behind his back. Imagine where he'd be had George done the same."

Captain Jay Huard made the post, intended for his personal page, while waiting in line to order lunch. But instead, he mistakenly shared it to the department's page.

When returning from picking up his lunch, another officer confronted Huard about the post. Huard deleted the post within 10 minutes and alerted Cardoza.

"The last two years have been very negative and I feel that we're under attack and it weighs heavy on me," Huard said, according to the report.

Huard has been with the Fall River Police Department for 25 years and served as the head of the Office of Professional Standards.

He was also the public information officer, but was reassigned pending the outcome of the report. He has since been removed from that position.

The report concludes there was no evidence of racial bias, but Huard violated the Fall River Police Department's social media policy and should have shown better judgement.

"I feel terrible for every single man and woman that puts on a police department uniform in Fall River," he told investigators. "Knowing that I caused them a little bit of strife in their shift, obviously the confidence that some of the community has in this department has taken a hit and I realize that."