A Bartow Police officer has been placed on administrative leave after a comment on Facebook that led to protests Thursday.
- Officer Christina Arribas placed on paid administrative leave
- Facebook post brought to attention of state attorney
- Arribas has been with department since 2006
Officer Christina Arribas, with the police force since 2006, will be paid during the administrative leave. A notice of pre-disciplinary action is forthcoming, the police department said.
The social media post prompted a state attorney to issue what's referred to as a "death letter," letting her know she will no longer be called upon to serve as a witness in any case.
State Attorney Brian Haas issued the letter to Arribas after learning about her November post to Facebook under the alias "Chrissy Gillrakers."
The post read, "This year we lost two gorillas, one is in heaven and one is moving out of the White House. One will be missed. One will not be."
The post was brought to Haas' attention by Pastor Clayton Cowart of the Poor Minority Justice Association. Cowart said he learned about the post through a public records request, which he made in an attempt to help former Bartow Police Officer Deonte Broom, who was terminated by the department in 2016.
The pastor assembled students and teachers from his church to protest outside of the police department Thursday. They held signs and dropped off bananas for Bartow Police Chief Joe Hall, who declined to come out of his office.
The police department said Hall won't comment further about the decision.