Kotzebue police sergeant resigns after investigation into inflammatory racist comments on social media

Updated: 15 Some minutes ago Published: 15 Some minutes ago

A Kotzebue police sergeant who posted an inflammatory racist comment on social media resigned this month following an investigation into the post, city officials said.

An investigator with the Spartanburg Police Department in South Carolina contacted Kotzebue Police Department and other city officials on April 30. The incident involved a social media post made by Kotzebue’s sergeant that contained “a derogatory remark toward a community of color,” city officials said in a statement Friday.

While city officials said Tuesday they could not release the name of the sergeant involved, David “Mike” Cox said in a message that he was the police sergeant who resigned from the department.

KOTZ News reported that Cox referred to two black suspects in a South Carolina murder case using a variation of the N-word. KOTZ shared a screenshot it claimed to have received from Spartanburg police showing Cox’s comment — which appears to have since been deleted — on an April 29 Facebook post from the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office. Additional screenshots of Cox’s remarks also circulated on social media among Kotzebue residents.

City officials said Tuesday that the comment in the screenshot was the subject of their investigation.

Police Chief Roger Rouse, Lt. Norman Hughes and Kotzebue Regional Jail Warden Christopher Cook arranged a phone call with the sergeant to learn more about the post, according to the city of Kotzebue. The department launched an investigation into the incident on April 30 and placed the sergeant on administrative leave, Rouse said Tuesday.

“The sergeant’s contributions do not reflect our department’s values ​​or our commitment to serving every member of our community fairly and respectfully,” Rouse said in a statement. “We take issues of bias and prejudice very seriously and will continue to ensure that our actions and policies reflect our commitment to equality and justice.”

The police department notified the sergeant that it would make a recommendation to City Manager Tessa Baldwin for his termination, the city’s statement said. According to the city employee handbook, the sergeant had five business days to respond to the recommendation.

The sergeant decided to resign during the appeal phase of the disciplinary process on May 22, city officials said.

“I resigned after the recommendation to terminate was made, after defending myself throughout the process,” Cox said Tuesday, adding that he plans to speak about what happened later in the week after he recovers from surgery on his hand and wrist.

Kotzebue police plan to review their social media policies and training to prevent similar incidents in the future, city officials said.

“We are committed to learning from this incident and improving our practices to ensure we continue to enjoy the highest levels of professionalism and trust in the community,” Rouse said.