INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Detroit Prosecutor Teana Walsh Says Baltimore Police Should Shoot Protestors

By Dustin Wicksell
Published on: 06:32 PST, May 1, 2015

Teana Walsh, a prosecutor in Michigan, has stoked the ire of many in her state’s legal community by suggesting on Facebook that Baltimore police should open fire on protesters gathered in the city.

According to the Daily Mail, Walsh posted her opinion to Facebook Monday night, responding to the situation in Baltimore with what she described as “disgust.” An assistant prosecutor in Wayne County — which includes Detroit — Walsh suggested that law enforcement in Baltimore should respond to the protests that have garnered worldwide attention by shooting all of those involved.

“So I am watching the news in Baltimore and see large swarms of people throwing bricks, etc at police who are fleeing from their assaults… 15 in the hospital already. Solution. Simple. Shoot ’em. Period. End of discussion. I don’t care what causes the protestors to turn violent… what the ‘they did it because’ reason is… no way is this acceptable. Flipping disgusting.”

Walsh eventually changed her mind about the post and deleted it, though 15 people had voiced their opinion on the Baltimore situation by agreeing with it. As Fox 2 News reports, however, Walsh’s post caught the attention of others in the Detroit legal community, astounding and infuriating many. Defense attorney Cliff Woodards said he was outraged by the post, which moved him to respond.

“What I said about it was that a prosecutor is a member of the law enforcement community,” he noted. “You can’t decide that you are going to execute the law in judgement without due process.”

Defense attorney Lillian Diallo also voiced her concern about Walsh’s rant, noting that her opinion on the Baltimore protests was “disappointing” given her profession.

“This is a person sworn to uphold the law – as we all are. We just fall on different sides, prosecutor, defense. And to put something out there so incendiary that so disrespects the community in which you serve, and the people you serve. It’s repugnant. Not all the people in Baltimore are doing that. There are professionals there, that are peaceful. However, you have the response to their frustration of throwing bricks to shoot and kill them.”

The protests in Baltimore have spurred numerous debates on social media, with varying degrees of civility, as the Inquisitr has previously reported. The office of the Wayne County prosecutor released a statement in support of Walsh, WXYZ reports, asserting that the post was “completely out of character” for her. On Friday, however, Teana Walsh contacted them to voluntarily resign her position amid the growing backlash over her suggestion that police shoot the Baltimore protestors.

[Image via Fox 2 News]

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