Fed-up police officer fired for venting about job on social media

By Amber Randall, DCNF

A Mississippi police officer was fired after venting in a Facebook post about his thoughts on policing.

Officer John Bingham was fired from the Tupelo Police Department after he wrote a post criticizing the mayor, police administrators and the use of body cameras, sources told The Clarion Ledger.

The city has not officially released the officer’s name, but did verify that an officer had been fired in relation to a social media post.

Bingham’s post, dated Oct. 3, complained about police administrators and how they have forgotten what it’s like to patrol.

“This makes me laugh as administrators who haven’t been on patrol in over 10 years pass out body cameras and Verbal Judo books. I laugh as they talk about ‘how they know how it is on patrol’ these cats never had an in car camera, much less their entire day taped and under review,” Bingham wrote.

The police department has not rolled out body cameras yet, according to the city communications director.

Bingham hates to imagine what the next 15 years will look like in law enforcement.

“I hate to think about the next 15 years I have to do in Law Enforcement. I didn’t sign up to beg people to do things that’s required of them by law. I was trained to ASK, TELL, and MAKE someone comply with my commands as a law enforcement officer,” he wrote.

The city released a statement Wednesday saying that while employees are free to express themselves, they must be careful not “negatively affect the public perception of the City.”

“This officer’s remarks in no way reflect the philosophy of the City of Tupelo, which is demonstrating through its six working committees the City’s resolve to address needs that have been identified within the city government through a series of meetings with various civic groups to discuss best practices for moving the City forward in a cohesive, inclusive manner,” the statement reads.

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