King County undersheriff recommends firing of detective for social media posts
Oct 14, 2020, 7:54 AM
Protesters hold a vigil to honor Summer Taylor, who died after they were hit by a car during a recent protest, on July 5, 2020, in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
(Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
Following the completion of an internal investigation, a King County undersheriff is recommending the firing of a detective who posted inappropriate memes after the death of a protester on I-5.
King County Sheriff’s Deputy placed on leave for social media posts about protesters
Hours after a fatal crash on the freeway on July 4, 2020, which killed Summer Taylor, 24, and severely injured another protester, detective Mike Brown posted a meme on Facebook. The image showed people getting hit by a truck with the caption, “All Lives Splatter.” The meme gained national attention, and prompted an unprecedented amount of complaints received by the sheriff’s office and county departments.
Veteran detective Brown has been on administrative leave during the internal investigation.
Brown has been served with the findings of the internal investigation, but according to a release from the sheriff’s office, this is not the final step. Brown still has the right to meet with the sheriff to defend himself and present his position before the final disciplinary decision.
The sheriff’s office is working with Brown’s union representatives to schedule that meeting.
The investigation continues into the conduct of other sheriff’s office employees who may have responded to some of Brown’s posts on social media.
KIRO Radio reporter Hanna Scott contributed to this report.
