Fort Lauderdale police officer fired over social media posts

Jeffrey Feldewert accused of participating in racist social media exchanges

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A Fort Lauderdale police officer was suspended earlier this month for allegedly posting racist material to his Facebook account.

In a letter to Officer Jeffrey Feldewert, dated June 11, the department notified him that, "effective immediately, your leave with pay will be changed to suspension with pay for 20 days, and your dismissal from city service will be effective at the close of business on July 10, 2015."

The letter referenced a comment from Dec. 18, 2014, in which Feldewert responded to a post about three African-Americans involved in a bar fight. Felderwert wrote "Typical Hoodrat Behavior," accompanied with a photo of a black man being arrested by white police officers.

The photo also included the caption, "Black People. Because without them the evening news wouldn't be as much fun to watch."

Another commenter noticed that Feldewert was a police officer and posted, "I don't know you, but I just want to say that you seem to be a disgusting and sad individual. Based on your picture/comment, I hope you are not a cop as well, because you seem to have a strong opinion about an entire race, which I can only imagine clouds you judgement. SAD!"

The police department also criticized the officer's profile picture of a skull with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department's badge and the words, "savage hunter," underneath, which the department said "reflects a negative image of our agency."

Feldewert's termination will be effective July 10.

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About the Author:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.