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Denver officer fired after posting Instagram photo with caption 'let's start a riot'

Posted at 5:54 PM, Jun 02, 2020
and last updated 2020-06-02 17:54:48-04

A Denver police officer who posted a picture on Instagram with the caption "let's start a riot" has been fired, police officials announced on Tuesday.

An Internal Affairs investigation found that officer Thomas McClay violated the police department's social media policy and "posted content inconsistent with the values of the Department," the police department said in a news release.

A screenshot of the officer's Instagram post was shared on Reddit Monday. Tommy McClay's Instagram account has since been removed, and the post is no longer viewable.

Denver police said the officers in the photo have been reassigned and will not be working the protests.

After the photo was shared on social media, Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen ordered an internal affairs investigation into the matter, according to a statement released on Twitter from the Denver Police Department.

This story was first reported by KMGH's Ryan Osborne.