ATLANTA — A local police lieutenant is weighing in on the subject of objectivity after a controversial social media post led to a public safety worker's firing in a nearby department.
Rhonda Moore was fired last Friday from her Roswell Police 911 supervisor job for posting a meme on her personal Facebook page showing the Confederate flag with the caption: “If this symbol represents racism in America, so do these”.
Below the caption are logos for Black and Hispanic organizations. Moore told investigators the post is just simply what she believes.
“As far as the rebel flag, it doesn’t stand for racism,” she said in an audio recording obtained by 11Alive. “And as far as the BLM and all of that, that's an organized group that is out to do nothing but cause issues with the law enforcement and with the public."
In Atlanta, police lieutenant Ralph Woolfolk has worked to build community relations through his work as an officer and helping with legislation. He also said being neutral publicly is part of that.
Woolfolk said it’s important for those in law enforcement to not show bias when it comes to serving the community.
“We are to maintain objectivity and neutrality as it pertains to these matters, especially in this climate where we know that we’re trying to mend relationships with the community,” he told 11Alive.
Lieutenant Woolfolk believes that applies even to personal social media accounts.
“When police officers or 911 dispatchers or anybody in our line of work make comments such as that, it puts in a space where it compromises those relationships,” he said.
He said the goal of a public safety worker is to make all people feel they’ll get equal treatment no matter who they are.
“It’s the epicenter and core of our objective in providing public safety in an objective and neutral capacity to all persons,” he said.
Moore told 11alive she’s consulting with her attorney about her legal options moving forward.