Verdigris Police Department Officer Brandon Jarvis. Courtesy Facebook
A racist Facebook post which appears to have been made by a part-time Verdigris Police Officer will not result in a suspension, according to the town’s police chief, because the officer involved claimed his account had been hacked.
The post, which appeared on the account of Brandon Jarvis, was in reference to NFL players who have knelt during the national anthem in recent weeks.
The racist post was made in the comments of a post by another person who joked about hockey players “standing for two anthems.” The NHL added a rule in the 1980s that mandated the national anthems of both the United States and Canada be played before every game.
“Precisely why I don’t watch NFL bunch of f–in overpaid greasy headed (expletive) expecting everything for nothing!! It would make my day to bitch slap the Jerry juice outta everyone of them’s hair!! F— em!! #sorrynotf–insorry” Jarvis’s account was quoted as saying.
The meaning of the particular racist slur used in the post is debated, but its origin is said to lie in the slavery era of the United States — it was used to describe slaves who would stand and sing under moonlight.
Jarvis is one of two part-time officers in Verdigris. There are six full-time officers, according to police chief Jack Shackleford. Shackelford said Jarvis would not be suspended, but would receive “some personal counseling by me in the use of social media.”
“If he is saying that his account was hacked, I don’t have any evidence to substantiate either claim,” Shackelford told The Frontier.
Jarvis could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening. According to pictures on his Facebook account, he appears to have previously worked for other law enforcement agencies in the state. One image shows him wearing a Chelsea Police Department uniform, and he makes reference on his account to having worked for the Rogers County Sheriff’s Office in the past.
In one image, posted last November, Jarvis is seen posing next to a silver Verdigris Police Department vehicle.
“You got a new car?” one person asked in the picture comments.
“Well I got a new to me car.. it’s Chiefs old car,” Jarvis replied.
Verdigris has about 4,400 residents according to the most recent census data, is relatively booming, having nearly doubled in population since 2000. Its population is heavily white, census records show — 77 percent of the town is white, and less than half of one percent is black.
