A Michigan police officer who had memories of KKK at home is fired

A Michigan police officer was fired from the Muskegon Police Department as a result of an investigation into racist memories found in his home, which were for sale.

Agent Charles Anderson was fired after the close of the disciplinary hearing Thursday afternoon, said Frank Peterson, director of the Muskegon City, at NBC News. Peterson said the full investigation report would likely be released next week.

Neither Anderson nor the police union, the Labor Policing Council, could be contacted immediately for comment.

Anderson, who is white, was put on administrative leave last month after a potential buyer said he saw a framed Ku Klux Klan and multiple Confederate flags at home.

The Muskegon Police Department announced on Aug. 8 that it had opened an internal investigation after "posting a message in social media," accusing the veteran officer of "possessing certain elements associated with a white supremacist group". ".

Robert Mathis, head of Facebook publishing, posted a photo of the KKK document on Facebook on August 7 after visiting Anderson's home with his wife Reyna, their two children and a real estate agent.

Mathis, who is black, had previously told NBC News that he did not know or disclose the identity of the agent in the message, but that other social media users I had identified it in the comment thread.

Mathis said he received death threats after uploading the images to Facebook.

Rob and Reyna Mathis, who live in Muskegon Township, reported feeling various emotions, including anger, sadness and shame, after seeing the Ku Klux Klan document in the Holton Township House. , about 20 km northeast of Muskegon.

Although Rob and Reyna Mathis initially wondered if the photos should be shared publicly, they did, however, feel they felt the need to inform the community of what they had witnessed.

The Muskegon County District Attorney's Office had previously told MLive that he would await the results of the police department's investigation before deciding to re-evaluate a 2009 incident in which Anderson had shot and killed an unarmed black male 23 years old. Anderson was cleared in late 2009 of any wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of Julius Allen-Ray Johnson. The shooting was considered an act of self-defense.