One of the Milwaukee police officers who was present during the controversial arrest of Bucks guard Sterling Brown outside of a Walgreens in January has been fired on account of what Milwaukee police chief Alfonso Morales describes as “racist”, “derogatory” and “mocking” social media postings. Those postings were made by officer Erik Andrade, who ridiculed Brown in overtly racist and personalized ways.
In a statement, Morales expressed that while Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) officers are “free to express themselves as private citizens” and as consistent with the First Amendment, officers’ speech pursuant to their official duties and professional responsibilities is not accorded the same degree of protection under department policies.