Fort Worth police officer fired for racist post on Facebook page, department says
A Fort Worth police officer was fired Thursday after an internal investigation determined that he was responsible for a racist post on Facebook earlier this month.
Officer Roger Ballard received an indefinite suspension, which is equivalent to termination, for violating departmental general orders related to social media use, the Fort Worth Police Department said in a news release.
An internal investigation related to the post continues for a second officer, who the department did not identify by name, police said.
Police have not commented on the content of the post. But according to screenshots widely shared in the community, the meme Ballard posted on a joint Facebook account was a photo of a Black man in a casket. The words on the photo say, “The face you make when you don’t understand ‘Stop resisting.’”
The meme was shared from a personal Facebook account under the name “Roger-Katie Ballard,” according to screenshots. The account has since been deactivated.
According to Fort Worth police records as of December 2019, Roger Ballard was employed as a Fort Worth police officer and Anne Catherine Ballard as a corporal at the police department.
On Sept. 20, Fort Worth police were made aware of the “racially insensitive” and “grossly inappropriate” Facebook post on an officer’s shared personal profile page.
The post led to numerous complaints and public outrage, Fort Worth police said in Thursday’s news release.
“The Fort Worth Police Department holds every officer to a very high standard and any comment, post, or any communication which is racially insensitive and unprofessional will not be condoned in any manner,” according to statement released Thursday by Fort Worth police. “Our department will continue to hold accountable those who do not meet that standard.”
Mayor Betsy Price supported the department’s decision to fire Roger Ballard, she said in a statement.
“We must continue the hard work of building trust in our community,” she said. “As I said previously, actions like these that unravel this hard work are extremely disheartening and we must see that individuals are held accountable for their actions.”
In a previous statement, Price said the post was “a pitiful example of what it looks like when an officer fails to uphold the standards of decency, respect, and sensitivity that FWPD officers are hired to exemplify.”
“Resisting arrest is not a license to kill. End of story,” she said. “I am quite frankly appalled by the post and the image.”
United My Justice founder Donnell Ballard said Thursday the firing was the right thing to do. United My Justice is a Fort Worth organization that protests police brutality.
“We are glad that the Fort Worth police officer was fired from his job, but we also believe that there’s more work ahead,” Donnell Ballard said. “This is a step into the right direction to let these police officers know you cannot say what you want on your post. You have to be held accountable.”
This story was originally published October 1, 2020 at 1:15 PM.
