A police detective from San Antonio was suspended 30 days this summer after making a social media post in which he called former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick a “terrorist sympathizer” and asked when he could be killed, according to KSAT 12 TV in San Antonio. Det. Joseph Fech made the post in January, which was sent to KSAT 12 and led to the TV station talking to the San Antonio Police Department. Their records showed that Fech was given a 30-day suspension in late June. He served the suspension from July to August.
In the Facebook post, Fech shared an article from pluralist.com that talks about Kaepernick’s comments after the death of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike ordered by the U.S. Kaepernick posted several tweets about the incident with one stating: “America militarism is the weapon wielded by American imperialism, to enforce its policing and plundering of the non-white world.”
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Along with sharing the article, Fech wrote: “When can we kill this terrorist sympathizer? Terrorist sympathizer = terrorist in my book.” The records showed that Fech was off duty when he made the post, but he violated the rules for conduct and behavior.
Kaepernick has been a polarizing figure for the last four years. In 2016, the Nevada alum began kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial injustice. With the Black Lives Matter movement emerging this summer due to the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, more people began to understand why Kaepernick started the protest.
“When Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem, I had strong feelings about it. Even when he kept saying it had nothing to do with the flag or military, I didn’t listen. I kept not listening to him or anyone else and let the political rhetoric persuade me that him kneeling was disrespectful to our military,” Kelly Stafford, the wife of Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford wrote in an Instagram post. “Over the past several months, I have opened my ears, mind, and heart and it has opened my eyes to see how wrong I was and for that I am sorry.” Kaepernick has been a free agent since the end of the 2016 season. Teams have shown interest in him before the start of training camp, but he has yet to sign with a new team.
