Canton cop suspended for racist comments during anti-Trump rally

CANTON, Mich. (WJBK) - The nation has been on edge since President-elect Donald Trump won the election early Wednesday morning. Now, a Canton police officer is being investigated for racist comments he made on social media.

Canton Public Safety Director Joshua Meier tells FOX 2 that a police officer is being investigated for comments made on social media.

"I've seen the post and it's disturbing and concerning. It's not reflective of the department or the good men and women who work for this police department and therefore we take the matter very serious and we're going to investigate it thoroughly and deal with it accordingly," Meier said.

According to sources, the discovery was originally made by an anti-police social media group when the officer commented "go home monkeys".

The post was originally brought to the attention of Detroit Police who confirm that the Canton officer who made the comments, worked for DPD before joining Canton in 2015.

Police in Canton say they acted quickly after learning of the comments Friday morning. By noon, the officer was put on paid administrative leave. For the safety of all officers and their families, the suspended officer is not being identified.

"The priority right now is fact-finding and gathering all the facts related to the case and making a determination which rules were violated," Meier said.

He also said that, depending on the outcome of the investigation, the officer faces disciplinary action ranging from a written warning to termination.

"We have specific policies and specific rules and regulations that we're looking at that are guiding us through this time," he said.

Meier said the department will be as transparent as possible throughout the entire process.