James Call
Tallahassee Democrat
TALLAHASSEE — A Florida Highway Patrol trooper and a Tallahassee employee of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles have been fired for making “abhorrent” comments about George Floyd protesters, the department said.
The two workers had directed “hateful, racist and threatening remarks” toward Florida demonstrators calling for better policing as part of nationwide protests in the wake of Floyd’s death in police custody on Memorial Day in Minneapolis.
Long-simmering tensions stoked by police tactics toward black men erupted over the weekend with marches and demonstrations by a diverse group of protesters, many in their teens and 20s, that blocked roadways in Florida cities and elsewhere in the country.
In an official tweet, DHSMV said it found remarks by Trooper Daniel Maldonado and William Henderson, who worked at the agency’s Tallahassee headquarters, “abhorrent and reprehensible.” Their comments were made via text message and social media.
https://www.facebook.com/FLHSMV/photos/a.394091793992368/3021031777965010/?type=3&theater