HOMEWOOD, Ala. — An Alabama police officer was demoted and suspended after a rap video he posted on social media prompted complaints, authorities said.
After an internal investigation, Jon Newland of the Homewood Police Department received a three-day suspension and was demoted from corporal to officer, AL.com reported. Newland was moved out of the department’s training division and placed back on patrol, according to Sgt. John Carr.
On May 16, Newland posted a 55-second video on his Instagram account. In the video, Newland rapped that “I wear black and blue/ Professional gunslinger, rap singer too” The video ends with him looking at the camera and saying, “My ways are a blaze of mysterious smoke/ Around your neck I flex this choke.”
Newland’s Instagram account has since been deactivated, AL.com reported.
The video was posted nine days before George Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on the man’s neck for nearly nine minutes.
The Homewood Police Department became aware of the video June 18, the Trussville Tribune reported. The department placed Newland on leave the next day, the newspaper reported.
“Our preliminary investigation has revealed that the officer was off duty when the video was posted and was not representing himself as a Homewood Police officer in any official capacity,” Carr said in a statement that was released in June. “The lyrics in the video are not reflective of the Homewood Police Department’s policies, procedures, standards, training, or views, as articulated in our use of force policy, which is available at www.homewoodpd.org.”
Newland was promoted to corporal in April 2018, the Homewood Star reported.
AL.com’s efforts to reach Newland for comment have been unsuccessful.
Cox Media Group
