Idaho deputy placed on leave for viral Ma’Khia Bryant video signs book deal, raises 500K

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A police officer is back to work after posting a controversial video about Ma’Khia Bryant’s death.

Bellevue officer Nate Silvester posted a viral TikTok video covering the death of the Ohio teen who was shot by a police officer in April. He was initially placed on administrative leave but returned to work on Thursday. He also claimed to have inked a book deal, per KTVB.

Read More: LeBron James says he ‘fueled wrong conversation about Ma’Khia Bryant’ with tweet

The Idaho deputy marshal posted a video about the Bryant shooting after Lakers star LeBron James tweeted a picture of the officer that killed her with the caption, “You’re next. #accountability,” in a now-deleted tweet, per KTVB.

In the video, Silvester fakes a call to James saying:

“So you don’t care if a Black person kills another Black person, But you do care if a white cop kills a Black person, even if he’s doing it to save the life of another Black person?” Silvester said in the TikTok video posted on April 24. “I mean, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but then again you are really good at basketball so I guess I’ll take your word for it.”

@nateswildn

#DoritosDuetRoulette #lebron #comedy #humanizethebadge #copsoftiktok #fypシ #foryou

♬ Spongebob – Dante9k

Bellevue is located centrally in the state and has a population of less than 3% Black residents. The officer was placed on administrative leave after the video was posted.

On April 27, Bellevue Marshal’s Office released a statement on Facebook saying:

 “The Bellevue Marshal’s Office is aware of the extreme controversy regarding Deputy Marshal Silvester’s viral TikTok. The statements made do NOT represent the Bellevue Marshal’s Office. The Bellevue Marshal’s Office always demands that our Deputies engage with our citizens in a friendly and professional manner.

This is NOT how we expect our deputies to act on duty or use city time. This is a personnel issue that is being dealt with internally. We would like to thank everyone that took the time to reach out to us. We greatly value our relationship within our wonderful community.”

But Silvester’s supporters condemned the police statement and applauded the officer’s video.

“I respect the officer and it’s unfortunate that it’s the truth he speaks in our new world. Support him, he serves the community well. The city of Bellevue should take a stand to support law enforcement,” wrote a user.

Another added: “When most of America is engaging and portraying officers in an unfriendly manner. Your on the wrong side of this… These officers are expected to make 110% of the right decisions.. Stand by them and be lucky you have them!”

Bryant was shot on April 20 just 30 minutes after the guilty verdict was announced in the case of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Chauvin was convicted of the murder of George Floyd last May that sparked global protests about police brutality and racism.

When Silvester was placed on administrative leave after the video surfaced, his supporters created a GoFundMe that amassed over $500K from 14,000 donations.

“I started this GoFundMe to help out my friend Nate due to his suspension without pay over a viral TikTok,” the friend who started the account on Silvester’s behalf posted to the GoFund Me page. “As I stated originally, the future of his job is still unclear, so I started this GoFundMe to help him. He is the sole beneficiary from this account. Therefore, 100% of the funds collected from this GoFundMe account will go directly into Deputy Marshal Nate Silvester’s personal bank account. Period. They are 100% his to do what he wants with them. Period,” per the account.

One donor contributed $15K to the cause.

Read More: Teacher accused of throwing object at student during Ma’Khia Bryant disagreement

“As stated in earlier updates by him, from there, Nate plans to give back to the police community at large, including the First Responder Children’s Foundation I linked below. He still plans on donating a portion of the funds collected to that charity. Since this has become significantly bigger than I ever anticipated, and landed Nate on some major national news, he wishes to use this platform he’s been given to help other officers in other situations similar to his, on a case by case basis.”

Reports say “Never Off Duty” is the working title of the officer’s upcoming book, which will be published by Di Angelo Publications.

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