NEW ORLEANS — An NOPD Sergeant was decommissioned and suspended Friday after racist social media posts made to a social media account under the same name as the officer.
Sgt. Anthony Edenfield, a homicide detective, was stripped of all police powers and decommissioned pending the outcome of an internal investigation into his social media use, according to a statement released by NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson.
Screenshots have been shared of posts made under the name Anthony Edenfield, showing a link to looting in San Jose, California. The screenshot included the comment “SAVAGES!!!! ANIMALS!!!!" on May 30.
Another comment, on an article aggregating a news story about a man who was run over and killed by a FedEx truck during a night of protests in St. Louis last month, said he would use "lethal force" if confronted by protesters.
“This sh— has moved on from being about George Floyd,” the comment said. “I am running them over, and shooting if lethal force were my only way out. The a--hole under the truck got what he deserved.”
Another comment was in response to New York Times writer Nikole Hannah-Jones’ assertion that “destroying property, which can be replaced, is not violence.”
“Burn down her house," the comment, attributed to Edenfield, said. "Blow up her car and see if she still feels the same way."
An attorney from the Police Association of New Orleans representing Edenfield told WWL-TV that the sergeant had been suspended and was cooperating fully with the investigation.
Edenfield has featured prominently in several NOPD public relations campaigns, including one on car break-ins in 2017.
His alleged social media comments were posted as the U.S. wrestles with allegations of systemic racism in law enforcement forces across the country. Protests against police violence in several cities have led to violence against protesters as well as looting and vandalism.
New Orleans has seen largely peaceful protests, with thousands demonstrating in the weeks since George Floyd died at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.
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