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3 Ex-Long Beach Police Involved In Online Discussion About Killing Activist
A Long Beach Police squad car is seen in this 2014 file photo. (Photo by Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC)
Three former members of the Long Beach Police Department are among a group of law enforcement officers who had an online discussion about killing a prominent activist and police critic.
New York-based activist Shaun King took to the website Medium to call attention to what transpired in a private Facebook group for California law enforcement officers.
The thread was started by a retired Long Beach police officer named Laura Tartaglione, according to King. Referring to King, she wrote, “these criminals that the Democrats created need to be stopped.”
Several people in the group chimed in. One wrote, “Shaun King needs to be put down.” Another said, “need a sniper,” and a third added, “toss this guy from a helicopter.”
The Long Beach PD confirmed that three former officers participated in the discussion: Tartaglione, who left the department in 1997; Jeffrey Garcia, who left the department in 2014; and Mary Jensen, who left the department in 1993.
“To be clear, none of the individuals in the article are current LBPD officers,” the department said in a statement, adding that it's "appalled and deeply disturbed" by the posts. It said it has asked the FBI to help with the investigation.
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