Wayne Walsh, a police officer in Estherwood, Louisiana, resigned on Tuesday following public backlash after sharing a racist image on Facebook, WATC reports.
Walsh took down the shared post, but Twitter user @Freeyourmindkid tracked down the original post and captured screenshots of the image and Walsh’s Facebook profile, which identified him as the Estherwood Police Department assistant chief. The photo in question depicts a white woman pushing her daughter’s face into a full bathtub with the caption “‘When your daughters [sic] first crush is a little N—- boy.'”
Walsh wrote a number of posts addressing the incident after receiving criticism for sharing the photo, including this post that Twitter user @nellucnhoj took a screenshot of:
Walsh’s Facebook’s post also reportedly complained that critics were playing the “race card” and that people were out to depict him as a “bad guy”. At 5 p.m. Monday, however, Walsh took to Facebook once more to apologize, according to WATC.
“Well, I posted something on Facebook that made a lot of people mad,” the post said. “Well, I’m sorry for what happen [sic]. Ya have a blessed day.”
Chief of Police Ernest Villejoin Sr. said that while Walsh admitted his post was a mistake, his behavior would not be tolerated. Villejoin apologized on behalf of his officer as well.
[Image via Shutterstock]