A Sanford, Florida police officer was relieved of duty after video surfaced this week of him singing, while uniformed, onstage with death metal band Vital Remains.

It was reported that Officer Andrew Ricks attended the Vital Remains concert in uniform on November 13th and joined the band on stage to sing “Dechristianize.”

There seemed to be some degree of public outrage over the song’s lyrics, which include the line: “Let the killing begin.”

Police chief Cecil Smith stated in a report that:

“An incident of this nature erodes the thin fibers of trust which already exist between the community and the police, and it will not be tolerated within the Sanford Police Department.”

Officer Ricks had worked for the department for six years without incident.

The twist to the story is that Officer Ricks had already submitted a letter of resignation from the department on October 30th, with a pending separation date of November 20th. The department became aware of the “singing incident” on Novemebr 17th and proceeded to fire him only days before his scheduled final day on the force—perhaps qualifying him for unemployment? Considering how many cops got to keep their jobs after shooting unarmed people, termination for growling along with a death metal band seems just a tiny bit extreme, but it seems Ricks was already done with the job.

Anyway, it looks from the video like Officer Ricks is having the time of his life:
 

 
Via: WFTV

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Metal albums with googly eyes

 
This week, Brooklyn has seen a community come together for vigils and demonstrations in protest over the shooting of Kimani Gray by the NYPD.

16-year-old Gray was shot by 2 officers patrolling East Flatbush in an unmarked car around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday night.

The autopsy report, released Wednesday, said 7 bullets were removed from Gray’s body, 3 of these had entered his body form the rear. Police claim they shot Gray after he had allegedly pointed a .38-caliber Rohm revolver in their direction.

The police allegations have been contradicted by the only civilian eye-witness account that claims Gray was “unarmed.”

From this it is apparent that the NYPD have the power to kill who they want, when they want, without interference or sanction.

This can not and should not be tolerated.

The shooting deepened tensions between the Community and the NYPD, with the police response to the local vigils and marches criticized as being insensitive, over-the-top and brutal.

While a Brooklyn community comes to terms with the unfettered violence of the NYPD, one mother still waits for her teenage son to come home.

We send sincere condolences to Kimani’s mother, Carol Gray and her family.

Kimani Gray R.I.P.

The activist and freelance photographer Jenna Pope attended a vigil for Kimani on Wednesday night.

Jenna was there to show respect for Kimani, support the community, and to photograph the vigil.

The night ended in a police riot, with Jenna badly injured and in need of hospital treatment.

This is part of her account and some of her photographs from that night, and I ask you check out Jenna’s photographic report over at her blog site.

This week, there have been vigils and marches in response to the NYPD shooting and killing Kimani Gray in Brooklyn. I was there on Wednesday, and although the vigil and march started out peacefully, the cops decided to block us from using a crosswalk while we were on the sidewalk, and continued agitating the whole night. I believe that’s what we call a “police riot.”

I was only able to photograph the beginning of the march since there was a quick end to my night when I was hit by a thrown object. An arrest was happening to my left, and I was hit on the right side. I received a concussion and was driven to the hospital in an ambulance where a doc put 5 stitches in my head. I have no idea what it was, or who threw it. If it was one of the many young, rightfully angry friends of Kimani Gray, then I honestly can say I would not be angry with them. Instead, I am angry that the NYPD shot 11 rounds at 16 year old boy, hitting him the back and killing him – which is what cause this outrage in Brooklyn.

If we want to seriously change the world, then we need more activists and photographers like Jenna Pope to bear witness to the truth, to give a damn and make a difference.

If you want, you can support Jenna Pope fight for justice, one photo at a time, by donating here. Thanks.
 

 
More of Jenna Pope’s photographs, after the jump…
 

 
Jody McIntyre is a blogger, journalist and political activist. He is also disabled. Last week, Jody took part in the demonstrations against the British government’s hike in university tuition fees. During the demo, Jody was dragged from his wheelchair in an “unprovoked” attack by police, as he explained to East London Lines:

“I was in Parliament Sq with my brother and we saw everyone running to one of the corners so we ran and made our way to the front.

“One policeman hit me with his baton in the shoulder then suddenly four or five of them picked me up, and dragged me from my chair. They carried me quite violently and against my will and put me on the pavement.

“Eventually after about 5 minutes, my brother was let through.

“What was even more shocking though, later on I had moved to the other side of Parliament Sq and I was sitting in my wheelchair in space in the middle of the road. A policeman recognized me from the earlier incident and came running over, pushed me out of my chair and dragged me across the road. This was completely unprovoked.”

Jody has yet to decide if he will pursue a complaint against the police, but was eager to highlight this was not an isolated incident.

“I’ve been to a lot of these protests and people are always violent with me,” he said.

“Even though I’m in a wheelchair, I like to think we’re all equal human beings. There was plenty of violence towards students yesterday, and even though I’ve had media attention, all of this violence is equally disgraceful. But this is standard police behavior.”

 
Previously on Dangerous Minds