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A detective in the King County Sheriff’s Office has been placed on leave after he posted messages on Facebook that ridiculed protesters who were struck by a car last weekend.
Detective Mike Brown allegedly posted “All lives splatter” on Facebook and another post where he wrote, “I see a couple of people go infected with COVID-19 from the hood of a car on I-5 last night.”
READ MORE: 1 of 2 protesters hit by car on closed Seattle highway dies
The posts appeared to be in reference to two women, Summer Taylor and Diaz Love who were struck by a car driven by Dawit Kelete. Taylor later died, and Love is in serious condition.
The women were taking part in a demonstration called the Black Femme March, part of the Black Lives Matter movement. Kelete, who is Black, allegedly drove around barriers and hit the women.
Brown has been with the King County Sheriff’s Office for more than 40 years.
On Tuesday, Washington Governor, Jay Inslee, wrote a statement on Twitter where he said that Brown is his cousin. “I’m deeply disappointed and totally reject the language of my cousin Mike Brown who made inflammatory comments about recent protests.” Inslee continued, “The language is unacceptable and just flat wrong, particularly from a law enforcement officer, as we try to heal the divisions of our community.”
King County Sheriff, Mitzi Johanknecht, said the investigation “has taken priority with me.” She continued, “And I’ve asked the undersheriff to make sure that our internal investigation command understands this is their top priority right now.”
READ MORE: Walmart to stop sales of ‘All Lives Matter’ merchandise
Brown had most recently been assigned to the protection detail of a King County executive.
“We value all members of our community and are committed to serving everyone equally, with dignity and respect,” Johanknecht said. “I will take swift action to thoroughly investigate when the conduct of Sheriff’s Office members fails to reflect our core values and violates Sheriff’s Office policy.”
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