Alabama police officer fired over Facebook photo depicting protester in rifle crosshairs

HOOVER, Ala. — An Alabama police officer was fired Friday after he admitted to creating a social media post that showed a protester in the crosshairs of a rifle scope.

Ryan Snow, of the Hoover Police Department, was responding to a Facebook post about protesters congregating at the Wendy’s restaurant in Atlanta where Rayshard Brooks was killed.

A link to an article published by WSB-TV, with the headline “Armed protesters remain at Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks was killed. So what’s next?” was included in a Facebook post, AL.com reported.

The social media post included a photograph of a Black protester holding a shotgun.

Snow, responding to the post on Tuesday, overlaid the crosshairs of a rifle on the photo of the protester and wrote, “Exhale. Feel. Pause. Press steadily. That’s what’s next.”

Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis told AL.com that department officials became aware of the post Wednesday morning.

“When I saw the post and the image, it sickened me,” Derzis told the website. “It certainly did not adhere to the standards expected of every officer who wears our uniform.”

Snow, who has been on the Hoover force for 4½ years, admitted to authoring the post and was placed on administrative leave, AL.com reported. Derzis decided to fire Snow after hearing his response to the charges.

“This type of conduct will not be tolerated in our department and is not representative of the professionalism expected by all of our officers,” Derzis told AL.com. “We’re not going to allow one officer to tarnish the reputation of the Hoover Police Department.”

Cox Media Group