A Miami firefighter accused of making derogatory comments about an officer killed in the line of duty, has been relieved of duty.
Miami Firefighter Kevin Newcomb allegedly made the comments in an online group chat after the death of Miami-Dade Police Detective Cesar "Echy" Echaverry, who was shot in the head Monday night, NBC 6 reported.
"Who cares another dead cop probably against gun control...Cops exist for the government to exercise its monopoly on violence. They want the whole world to stop when one of theirs goes down," read one of the posts.
It appears someone in the group chat made authorities aware of the firefighter's statements.
Reporters said Newcomb also spoke about the school shooting in Texas as well as officers who died from COVID-19.
"How many idiots I had to transport with honor guard their dead bodies from coronavirus because they were all too stupid to wear masks or get vaccinated," the message read, according to NBC 6. "All cops are for is protecting the rich property owners and the status quo. Everything else is a farce. F--- the police."
In a statement, Miami Fire Chief Joseph Zahralban said: "At this time, we are conducting an investigation into the statements that were made and the individual has been relieved of duty pending the outcome of the investigation."
The comments have sparked outrage from the community and police who are grieving the officer's death.
Tommy Reyes, president of the Miami police officers' union asked that Newcomb be removed from duty pending an investigation.
"These comments are disgusting and lead me to worry for the safety of our members, fearing that this fire fighter may not assist one of our members the way he should," Reyes said in a letter. "I want to remind our members that this person's statement does not reflect the feelings of all of our fire department brothers and sisters."
