UPDATE (June 5):
“The Fire and Police Commission, the deciding body, has informed myself and the Police Chief of their decision to accept the resignation of the officer in question. This concludes the process of termination and the officer is no longer employed with the City of Fulton,” said Fulton Mayor Deana Michaels. “Now we turn our focus to healing from this matter, learning from it and continuing the proactive measures that will make us a stronger more informed workforce, city and community.”
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FULTON – On May 30, a Fulton police officer, Hunter Beckwith, was put on leave pending an investigation into a social media post she had made the previous night. Today, June 1, Mayor Deana Michaels announced the officer’s position will be terminated.
Beckwith had posted “Black lives only matter to black people unless they’re killed by a white person.”
“An investigation was initiated to determine the circumstances and our next steps,” Michaels said in a press release. “The investigation is now complete, the Police and Fire Commission has met and the City of Fulton has moved forward with the process of termination of this officer. These circumstances are unfortunate on many levels. Difficult yet necessary decisions needed to be made. The residents of the City of Fulton need to have the utmost confidence and trust in their police force and the City of Fulton employees. I have zero tolerance for actions and behaviors that shake the public confidence or question the trust of those who are tasked with serving our community and protecting our community. Let me be clear that the actions of one do not represent the beliefs of all. While I am confident in the commitment of our employees to do the right thing, we will continue to invest in the training and development of our workers to learn from what has happened and be better as a result. We are all committed to make us an even stronger city.”
Fulton Police Chief Craig Westbrook commented, “The social media posts in question do not represent the values of the Fulton Police Department. They diminish the trust and the relationship established between the police department and the community. We appreciate the community being proactive in bringing this matter to our attention. We take these matters seriously and will continue to serve the community with the highest level of professionalism.”
Michaels continued “I have pledged from the beginning to make Fulton a safe place to raise a family, pledged to clean up our neighborhoods, and pledged to move our city forward so that we can be proud of who we are, what we stand for and what we offer. While focused efforts have been made since January, there is still a great deal of work to be done. This weekend made that even more clear. To reach our goals, we must come together to learn from what has happened. We have endured a lot over the past few months. Fulton has shown its strength. I’m asking Fulton to show their strength once again and come together so all of our community feels safe, welcomed and valued. We are Fulton Strong and we will get through this.”
Michaels posted a video addressing the situation, and can be found here.
