A US police officer has been demoted to desk duty after posting an offensive comment on social media which appears to show him ‘celebrating’ the passing of hip-hop artist Jimmy Wopo.
One of the most notable stories of the last fortnight was the death of controversial US rapper XXXTentacion, who was gunned down at the age of 20. However, his passing happened to overshadow the death of Jimmy Wopo, an up-and-coming hip-hop artist who was killed in similar circumstances on the same day in another part of the country.
As the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette reports, officer Brian M. Martin recently responded to a Facebook post in which a user questioned why people weren’t protesting the death of Jimmy Wopo, while many took to the streets to speak out in regards to another similar shooting.
“People out there protesting for a murder because he was young n wrote a poem,” wrote the user on Facebook. “What about the kid whose death he was involved in? No one protesting for him? Everyone forgot about the Wopo murder that quick?”
“Not me,” responded Martin. “I’m still celebrating.”
https://twitter.com/JasonRFate/status/1011662040690253824
On Friday afternoon, Pittsburgh Police made a statement in which they explained they were “aware of a Facebook post by a city officer,” and had immediately ordered an investigation into the incident.
“We will hold this officer accountable for his actions,” the Pittsburgh Police said in their statement. “Comments that disparage victims and endanger the community and fellow officers will not be tolerated by the City of Pittsburgh. Such behavior is a poor reflection on the Bureau and will not be tolerated.”
Now, in a a new press release, spokesman Chris Togneri revealed that the officer in question had been placed on “modified duty” as a result of his actions. A spokesman for Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto confirmed the news, stating that the officer was now on desk duty thanks to his comments.
“It was a comment that not only created additional duress during this situation but also put his fellow officers in potential danger,” explained Mayor Peduto.
Jimmy Wopo had risen to fame in early 2015 after posting a number of his tracks to SoundCloud. After amassing a large following thanks to his viral success, Wopo began releasing a handful of mixtapes online, receiving widespread acclaim in the process and even being considered for XXL Magazine’s annual Freshman list, which notes the best up-and-coming artists in the genre.
His death on June 18th is still being investigated, with no suspects or motive being made public at this time.
Check out Jimmy Wopo’s ‘Elm Street’:
