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Marcell Salters Instagram – Report : Police and others in the Philadelphia area are very unhappy with a posting of an image on Instagram by a Philadelphia Fire Department paramedic. The photo show two black males pointing guns at a white police officer. The message with the post says- “Our real enemy. Need 2 stop pointing guns at each other and at the ones that’s legally killing innocents.”
[fwdevp preset_id=”8″ video_path=”eSlg5_4Zdmg”]But what makes the picture more disturbing for police is that the photo came from account of a Philadelphia Firefighter Paramedic.
“It’s despicable, and it defames police,” said Police Union President John McNesby.
Philadelphia Police Union Chief John McNesby says the image is a slap in the face to police, the first responders who work side by side with firefighters.
Marcell Salters has been identified as the paramedic who posted the picture. He works at medic 23 in southwest Philadelphia. Coincidently, in the very same building as 19th district police.
“It’s a brotherhood. We are out there doing the same work public safety and to do something like that is ridiculously stupid,” said McNesby.
The picture was followed up by another post from Marcell Salters account. It says “There are numerous crooked and corrupted cops (mostly white) & mostly they harass, beat or kill innocents(mostly blacks).” The account does not indicate that Marcell Salters works with the fire department but he is seen in several pictures wearing his paramedic uniform.
No one answered the door at Salters home and he didn’t respond to messages from Fox 29.
But once Fox 29’s Chris O’Connell started asking questions another post appeared on Marcell Salters Facebook page.
This one was an apology. It read:
“That post was out of anger of what is going on around the world (Mike Brown, Eric Garner & etc.) & past experiences that I’ve had with police. My intention was not to slander or hurt anyone or my brothers in blue. Again I am sorry.”
Still some say Marcell Salters should be disciplined.
“You don’t want to see anybody lose their jobs especially around the holidays. But if the charge of stupidity was in their handbook he’d probably get a life sentence,” said McNesby.
It’s not clear whether the post violated the department’s social media policy.
Mayor Michael A. Nutter released the following statement in response to postings made by a Philadelphia Fire Department paramedic on social media:
“In the strongest possible terms, I condemn the behavior of a paramedic in the Philadelphia Fire Department who used social media to post a reprehensible message and photo that targeted police officers particularly at a time of emotional volatility and citizen protests in our nation in the wake of tragedies in Ferguson and New York City.
“We Philadelphians expect our public servants to uphold the highest standards of behavior as they conduct the city’s business. City employees must always be mindful, whether on or off duty, that their behavior should not negatively reflect on our City or raise questions that may diminish citizen confidence because a city employee might be unable to carry out their duties as a result of his or her actions, expressions or behavior either directly or on social media.
“We celebrate the exercise of our First Amendment right to expression, but there are clear limits, and this posting went far beyond standards of decency. Inflammatory speech or behavior like this is simply irresponsible and could potentially incite others to inappropriate actions.
“When this matter came to our attention yesterday, we asked Fire Commissioner Derrick Sawyer to undertake a thorough investigation and invoke whatever discipline is warranted in this circumstance. Any decision regarding discipline will be made by the Fire Commissioner after the completion of this investigation.
“I’m asking that all of us be particularly mindful of our actions and expressions regarding matters of public safety and our first responders. We need to respect them all, and they must respect our citizens as well.”
Agencies/Canadajournal
