A police officer in South Florida is being investigated for alleged remarks that referred to some survivors of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School as "paid actors," WSVN reported.
In a Facebook post, North Miami Beach Police Officer Ericson Harrell alleged that the students who have led a call for change in gun control laws since the Feb. 14 shooting were "paid actors" and wondered if "payoff money" was a factor in their actions, The Miami Herald reported.
“Well, if you haven't heard already, I'll be standing in front of the man because of my Questioning (in) the Parkland narrative,” Harrell posted Sunday on Facebook.
Called the “Penitent Cop” because of his active participation on social media, Harrell’s March 29 post on Facebook is the item under scrutiny.
"What proof do you have?" Harrell allegedly wrote. "What evidence do you have, that anyone was killed other than #MSM (Mainstream Media) accounts, alleged witnesses and a couple of funeral processions? #StonemanDouglas #SandyHook."
Jeff Kasky, father of student leader Cameron Kasky, told the Herald that he spent about 11 months training with Harrell in 1998, and that he could have given the officer plenty of proof.
"This guy knows me personally," Kasky told the Herald. "How can he possibly think that this is true?"
Cameron Kasky, a junior, founded the #NeverAgain movement against gun violence and helped organize the March for Our Lives that was held in Washington, D.C., and other cities worldwide, the Herald reported.
Kasky said that Harrell was a “terrific leader” during their time together at the Metro-Dade Police Academy in Miami, the Herald reported.
"I know that he's a very good person. I don't know what happened to him," Kasky told the newspaper. "I wish him the very, very best. I wish he would have called to ask me, 'Why is your name involved?' before spouting this nonsense."
Kasky conceded that he and Harrell have lost contact.
“I haven't been in touch with him for years," Kasky told the Herald. "It's not the Eric that I know."
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