Alabama cops broke the law by blaming murders on Satan, activists say
Activists have called on an Alabama police department to repent (well, to retract a Facebook post) after the department blamed local murders on people who have “embraced Satan.”
The Opp Police Department connected Satan to the violent crimes in a Facebook post Tuesday, the Associated Press reports, with the department writing that homicides in Covington County are “HAPPENING BECAUSE WE HAVE TURNED AWAY FROM GOD AND EMBRACED SATAN. WE MAY HAVE NOT MEANT TO DO SO BUT, WE HAVE.”
Police wrote that a man was shot to death in Kinston on Sunday, and that a mother was shot and killed in the northern part of the county on Monday, according to AP. All told, there have been five homicides in the county this year, police said in the post.
It appears the Facebook post has been taken down — but not before the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, an activist nonprofit group advocating for separation of church and state, got its hands on a screen grab of the message.
The group called the Opp Police Department Facebook post “highly illegal” and said it needs to be retracted in a news release on Wednesday. The group accused the department of endorsing a religious belief in God while also blaming others — namely, Satanists — for the county’s violent crime problem, the group argues.
“Police officers take an oath to protect and serve all citizens, including those who practice a minority religion or no religion at all,” Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the nonprofit, said in a statement. “This inappropriate post sends a chilling message to non-Christians and non-believers that they are presumed guilty.”
The nonprofit group said it has 32,000 members nationwide, including in Alabama.
In its news release, the group said it was “the height of hypocrisy” to blame violent crime in the county in a way that itself broke the law.
“IT IS TIME TO ASK FOR GOD’S HELP TO STOP THIS,” the Facebook post captured by the group said. “IT IS TIME TO BE PARENTS AND RAISE OUR CHILDREN, NOT HAVE THEM RAISE US. IT IS TIME TO FULLY SUPPORT LAW ENFORCEMENT AND STAND BY THE OFFICERS AND DEPUTIES THAT ARE FAR TOO OFTEN HAVING TO WALK INTO THESE DANGEROUS SITUATIONS AND CLEAN UP THE MESS.”
Opp police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
Other messages on the department’s Facebook page mention God as well.
“God bless each and all on this Monday,” the department wrote on Dec. 17, the day before the message about embracing Satan.
Some older posts that mention God are now getting trolled by Facebook users.
“Which god?” one commenter asked on a post from last week. “Is there a specific one you’re referring to?”
The Satan-related post that appears to be deleted ends by divvying people up into three groups.
“BOTTOM LINE, THERE ARE SHEEP; THERE ARE WOLVES AND THERE ARE SHEEP DOGS. WHICH GROUP DO YOU BELONG TO?” the post asked.
This story was originally published December 20, 2018 at 6:36 PM with the headline "Alabama cops broke the law by blaming murders on Satan, activists say."