A University of Colorado Boulder police officer’s derogatory comments on social media have cost him his job.
In the now-deleted posts, Officer Drew Matthews left a series of anti-Black comments and derogatory remarks about people who are homeless. He also suggested using high-pressure fire hoses against Black people and people living in homeless encampments. Safe Access for Everyone (SAFE), a police watchdog group, provided screenshots from Matthews' anonymous account.
The online comments go further. In other posts, Matthews went on to invoke racial stereotypes and described how he would stop Black men at parties.
The derogatory comments appeared regularly on various Reddit Boards — /r/Boulder, /r/CUBoulder, and /r/ProtectAndServe.
SAFE said Matthews eventually identified himself on a Reddit board for law enforcement. And SAFE further connected him through photos found on his Facebook.
Matthews was placed on administrative leave in April after SAFE posted the comments on Twitter.
Now, CU Boulder Police said Matthews is no longer with the department after an investigation found he could not effectively continue to perform his duties.
“CUPD is committed to professional standards and adherence to its department policies. After a thorough review, Chief of Police Doreen Jokerst notified Mr. Matthews that his employment was terminated because it was determined he could not effectively continue to perform his police duties for CU Boulder.”
Matthews had been with the CU Boulder Police since 2015.
