Colorado Springs Police Sgt. Keith Wrede is being disciplined after he made comments to “KILL THEM ALL” under a livestream of a protest in June while using a fake name, CBS Denver reports.
According to the report, Wrede made the comments while using a Facebook profile under the name “Steven Eric,” in reference to a video of a group of protesters blocking traffic on Interstate 25 using vehicles. The protesters got out of the vehicles with their signs in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, blocking traffic for about an hour.
“KILL THEM ALL,” and “KILL EM ALL” Wrede, under the persona Eric, wrote in the comments.
News station KRDO later received a tip that Wrede was behind the comments and followed up with the police. An internal affairs investigation confirmed that Wrede was behind the comments and he has faced multiple disciplinary actions.
He was removed from his specialized unit and reassigned to a different position, all while being suspended for 40 hours and losing out on more than $2,000 in wages, according to the report.
Still, Police Chief Vince Niski defended his officer claiming that the comments had “no indication of any physical action or intent to cause harm.
“It was determined that the comments were made off-duty out of frustration,” Niski noted in a letter to the public before adding, “I am in no way minimizing Sergeant Wrede’s words. His comments were unacceptable, have damaged our relationship with members of our community, and fell short of our standards.”