By Twumasi Duah-Mensah
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
DURHAM, N.C. — Police are investigating after Durham Police Chief Patrice Andrews opened a threatening letter containing a powdery substance Tuesday morning.
Andrews received the letter at 7:15 a.m., police said. The Durham Fire Department tested the substance, which did not test positive for anything harmful. Police did not provide details of the threat.
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Andrews received some backlash when she posted comments on Facebook critical of conservative activist Charlie Kirk after Kirk was shot and killed Sept. 10.
Andrews said she was outraged at those who honored a man “who disguised himself as a Christian, shamed Black women like me, believed that gun violence was necessary to preserve the [Second] Amendment and created a culture of divisiveness through hate speech.”
Andrews has since deleted the post but has not publicly commented on it. A petition calling for her resignation has received over 2,000 signatures, The News & Observer reported. The Police Department said Sept. 15 it would review the post to see if it broke any policies.
Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams publicly supported Andrews at a City Council meeting on Sept. 15.
“I think it’s important that we realize that silence for what’s right is also damaging. It’s important that we speak up for what’s right,” Williams said. “The First Amendment, freedom of speech, is accessible to us all, whether we like each other or not. It is for all of us. ... You cannot be selectively outraged and try to determine who gets access to that or not.”
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