This Police Officer's Racist Social Media Post Has Left Her Jobless

A white Pennsylvania police officer has learned the hard way that it literally doesn’t pay to be racist.

McKeesport police officer Melissa Adamson was officially terminated from her position shortly after one of her Snapchat posts that included a racially offensive caption went viral. In the screenshot taken from her post, Adamson is seen pictured with the words, “I’m the law today n***a,” typed across the front of the photo. 

McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko issued a statement on the city’s Facebook page confirming Adamson’s dismissal on Tuesday. “As mayor of the city of McKeesport, I feel compelled to publicly address an issue that has come to my attention via social media,” he said in the statement. “A past social media post surfaced just a few hours ago involving a recently hired part-time police officer, who has been in training as a probationary employee for just a few weeks. This post displays a degree of conduct and character that is far different from what I would expect from an officer in this city. It is absolutely unacceptable. Without hesitation, my office and the police chief’s office immediately concluded that this officer’s actions will not be tolerated in the city of McKeesport. She has been relieved of her duties, and her employment has been terminated.”

Despite her social media post indicating otherwise to many, Adamson insists that she wasn’t intending to be racist with her post. “I’m not a racist,” she told WTAE Pittsburgh. “That’s not how I plan on portraying myself. I love my job. I love what I do. It’s what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

In addition to being fired from her job as Mckeesport police officer, Adamson also resigned from a second job as a part-time police officer in Versailles on Tuesday. She says the photo being brought to light was the result of an altercation she had with a former police officer who she claims is now attempting to make her look bad.

“Everyone that knows me knows I don’t have a racist bone in my body,” she continued. “And people who don’t know me, I can understand why it was misconstrued to where it looks racist. But like I said, everyone who knows me knows I’m not racist. Again, it was a stupid mistake. It shouldn’t have been posted in general, regardless of how my intentions were.”

She concluded her explanatory comments with an apology to those who were offended.

“I’m sorry for who I did offend. It was not my intention. I can’t express how sorry I am for how I made you feel — emotionally, physically. Again, it wasn’t my intention.”