Missouri police union declares shooting anniversary 'Darren Wilson Day,' deletes post

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A Facebook post on the Columbia Police Officers’ Association page declared the one-year anniversary of the death of Michael Brown to be “Darren Wilson Day,” prompting protests and demonstrations in Missouri.

The post, now deleted, referred to Darren Wilson as an “innocent, but persecuted, officer,” whose shooting of Michael Brown had nothing to do with race. The post also pointed to “the fact that he was thoroughly investigated… and found he did NOTHING wrong,” as proof of Wilson’s innocence.

The post stirred up controversy, with demonstrations being made outside of the police department. On Monday, during on such demonstration, Columbia’s city manager and the police chief locked arms with the demonstrators to show their solidarity.

Robert McDavid, the mayor of Columbia also took to Facebook to distance the city from the Facebook post, saying that the union was a “trade organization that is not accountable to the City of Columbia.”

Although the post was deleted, the Columbia Police Officers’ Association put up a new post attempting to explain their stance: “The CPOA’s post on Sunday regarding Darren Wilson was interpreted in a manner that was not the intended message. In an effort to resolve the confusion, the CPOA wants to say this plainly: CPOA supports Officer Darren Wilson and all law enforcement officers who endure similar situations.”