Milwaukee police officer fired for ‘racist connotation’ of tweets about Sterling Brown

A Milwaukee police officer who was one of the men on the scene of Milwaukee Bucks star Sterling Brown’s arrest in January has been fired for sending text messages about the incident deemed to be racist.

Milwaukee’s police chief told CNN on Friday that Erik Andrade, the fired officer, was one of eight who responded to the incident involving Brown earlier this year. Brown is suing the city and the police force over his arrest, during which he was tased by officers, for an alleged parking violation.

{mosads}”They have a racist connotation and are derogatory, mocking an individual who was recently the subject of officers’ use of force,” police chief Alfonso Morales told CNN of the tweets.

“Such comments also directly affect his credibility and ability to testify in future hearings as a member of this department. I have not, and will not, tolerate such behavior,” Morales added.

In one of the messages, which was posted to Facebook, Andrade appears to wish for the opportunity to be involved in the arrest and possible use of force against another player, Cleveland Cavaliers’ star J.R. Smith.

“I hope JR Smith double parks in Walgreens handicap parking spots when he’s in Milwaukee,” Andrade posted, according to CNN.

Two sergeants were suspended without pay for more than 10 days over the January incident involving Brown, according to CNN, while another officer was suspended for two days and eight others received orders to be trained in professional communication.

Brown’s lawsuit referenced the offensive messages as well as others, which his lawyers say “is an admission that [Andrade] and other defendant officers are allowed to engage in unlawful attacks and arrests of African-Americans without justification and then relish such events without any fear of real discipline.”

Morales apologized in May for his officers acting “inappropriately” during the arrest and charges were dropped.

Milwaukee’s mayor also apologized to Brown over the incident, saying in a statement earlier this year that “[n]o citizen should be treated this way.”