Florida Cop Matthew Blunt Uses ‘Racist’ Anime Meme, Is One-Day Suspension Overkill?

A police officer named Matthew Blunt is being punished by his department in Casselberry, Florida, after the cop was caught using a racist anime meme that uses the word “n***a.” While some say the punishment is justified, others say it is a lot of fuss over a joke.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, a Canadian man lost his $100k job because he was acting like a soccer hooligan and made a sexist comment based upon a weird meme that even Jameis Winston has used. Some say he deserves to be fired, but others point out he made the comment on his time and was not representing his employer.

Unfortunately, Florida cop Matthew Blunt did use the racist anime meme as part of his job when he sent a text message from his personal phone to the city-owned phone held by his supervisor, Kristine Pamatian. He was merely bragging about winning a $32 lottery ticket, but he decided to celebrate by showing a Clannad character saying “Aw, s**t n***a.”

Casselberry police chief David Del Rosso told WFTV that Officer Blunt “took full responsibility, acknowledging his actions” and that “the city has sent a strong message that this behavior is not acceptable.” As punishment, the Florida cop will spend one 10-hour shift without pay.

When the story began to go viral, some residents were upset.

“They’re there to enforce peace and bring peace to the community, not to be doing that garbage. It shows that they’re immature,” resident Celeste Lopez said. “It’s scary because if I need a policeman, now it’s like, ‘Well, is he a good one or a bad one?’ It’s like a terrible mindset.”

Speaking in the comments section, Jayson Linton claims the report is trying to turn a meme joke into an uproar over racist cops.

“What is sad is the fact that this reporter and this story are stupid. All this story is about, is getting everyone worked up over something stupid. I know when I was with my buddy ray and we won the lotto we both said the same thing… And he is a black man. What this is, is a sad attempt to get the public into an uproar over race.”

But others say officer Matthew Blunt should be more careful about how he represents as a Florida cop.

“You are a grown man. You know your responsibilities. You know somebody is going to see that. You should think before you send something. He’s a higher figure,” resident Cassie Daughenbaugh said.

What do you think?

[Image via Lee Woods]