After his wife posted her support for President Trump on Facebook, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Police Chief Jarrad Berkihiser was reportedly forced out of his job.
The Post Millennial reports that, according to local news, the Fraternal Order of Police in Lancaster claimed that Chief Berkihiser’s decsion to step down was due to the Facebook posts.
John Fiorill, the previous president of the Fraternal Order, said that Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace told the Police Chief to resign because of the Facebook comments, where she said that she supports Trump because of his staunch support of law enforcement.
Fiorill said:
“This was an unjust situation that he was placed in, a clear violation of his rights. He was advised by the mayor that she wanted his resignation, based on those statements made on Facebook, not by Chief Berkihiser, but by Chief Berkihiser’s wife.
“He retired under his conditions, not the conditions of the mayor, not a termination. That’s exactly what he wanted to avoid and he wanted to avoid that turmoil.”
Sorace announced Berkihiser’s retirement on October 2nd, but would not take questions or comment on his departure, which will be effective on October 30.
Fiorill believes that the decision by the Democrat mayor was based on politics, saying that “it is unjust and unfair, not only to Jarrad Berkihiser, but it’s an insult to law enforcement officers because Jarred dedicated his life and his career to serving the citizens of Lancaster city.”
The Post Millennial continues that the police chief’s wife’s posts were in response to a friend who had been volunteering at a Trump rally at Harrisburg International Airport, who posted “spoke so much of law enforcement officers and his respect and thankfulness for them!” Mrs. Berkihiser replied “why im voting for him again. Same reason as last time… you don’t see him meeting w Jacob Blake’s family or speaking to him by phone…”
Considering that these Facebook posts were clearly regular political speech, it’s doubtful Fiorill is alone in his belief of why Berkihiser was pushed out of his position by a member of a political party that seems to only tolerate speech that it agrees with.
