Two St. Louis police officers whose racist social media posts were exposed by an advocacy group in June are no longer with the department.
Brian Millikan, an attorney for Ronald Hasty and Thomas Mabrey, confirmed Monday the two were fired Nov. 27. He said that decision has been appealed.
Mabrey and Hasty were among thousands of officers whose Facebook posts were documented by the Plain View Project, a Philadelphia-based organization. Hasty posted under a pseudonym, Ron Nighthawk, which many saw as a reference to a leadership position in the Ku Klux Klan.
The Ethical Society of Police, which advocates for officers of color in St. Louis and St. Louis County, tweeted that Hasty and Mabrey had been fired on Monday. St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department confirmed the officers were no longer with the department, but would not say they had been fired.
Millikan said the two officers were posting on social media as private citizens and were exercising their First Amendment rights. He said the two had never been accused of racist behavior while on the force and should be judged for their 30-year careers. Hasty joined the department in December 1987 and Mabrey in April 1989.
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