Lynwood city manager on leave after social media post following Compton deputies shooting
Lynwood’s city manager has been placed on paid administrative leave after he posted controversial content on social media regarding the shooting of two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies in nearby Compton.
Tuesday’s City Council decision regarding Jose Ometeotl, which the city said is “pending an internal investigation,” follows a post he apparently made on Instagram in response to Saturday’s shooting — when a man opened fire on a 31-year-old female deputy and a 24-year-old male deputy as they sat in their vehicle, shooting them in the face, head and arms.
The deputies are recovering, and a manhunt for the suspect is ongoing.
The personal Instagram account identified as Ometeotl’s was no longer viewable Wednesday morning, but a screenshot of the post taken by a reporter for Fox 11 Los Angeles shows a photo of Malcolm X overlaid with the text “Chickens come home to roost.”
Sheriff’s response to the attack on two deputies has alarmed some activists, lawmakers and watchdogs, who fear the aggressive rhetoric is inflaming tensions.
The caption of the post read: “The shooting of anyone is a wholly unacceptable occurrence in society. I do not condone the type of violence seen in the shooting of the deputies yesterday in Compton. I will say that communities like Compton have been plagued by deputy gangs that inflict fear and violence in the community.
”....The fact that someone randomly opened fire on deputies is to be expected in the society we live in today,” the post continued. “The political climate and leadership of [L.A. County] Sheriff [Alex] Villanueva has only sowed the seeds of anger and frustration in the community. I pray for the deputies and their families while still demanding justice for Andres Guardado, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, Ahmaud Arbery.”
In a statement Sunday, the city of Lynwood said that Ometeotl’s comments were “his personal opinions and don’t reflect the position of the Lynwood City Council.”
“On behalf of the hard-working families of Lynwood, as well as the city’s employees and elected officials, we wish to send our heartfelt prayers to the families of the Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies recently injured in the line of duty,” the statement continued. “We also support every effort by the sheriff’s department to track down their attackers.”
The City Council has selected Community Development Director Michelle Ramirez to serve as acting city manager.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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