UPDATE: Police Capt. Geoffrey Morgan confirmed the allegations against Officer Joseph Peterson to TheBlaze. He said the officer has been on extended workers compensation leave since before complaints were made against him for the Facebook post.
“We want the people to know he is off the street,” he said.
Morgan said an internal investigation is underway into the Facebook comments and he doesn’t expect Peterson to be back on duty any time soon — “at a minimum.” However, no disciplinary action has been taken yet against the cop due to the Facebook posts because the investigation has not concluded.
“We pride ourselves on being completely transparent,” Morgan added. “That’s how we do things here.”
–
A Connecticut officer with the Branford Police Department has reportedly been placed on extended leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation after he allegedly told a Facebook user he couldn’t wait to “bang down your door and come for your gun.”
Connecticut resident John Cinque, whose passionate remarks to lawmakers on the state’s new gun registration laws went viral, provided screenshots of a Facebook conversation involving Officer Joseph Peterson to the conservative blog Freedom Outpost. The officer is reportedly a “long-time friend” of Cinque’s.
The heated debate reportedly began over Connecticut’s new gun control law that technically turned gun owners who refuse to register their semi-automatic rifles and/or high-capacity magazines into felons overnight.
After some unfriendly conversation, Peterson — who was off-duty — eventually wrote: “I give my left nut to bang down your door and come for your gun …… you idiot grow up.” Giving the officer the benefit of the doubt, it’s technically possible he could have been attempting humor.
The Facebook user he was debating with certainly wasn’t friendly either. Take a look at some of the conversation (Warning! Strong language):
John Cinque/Freedom Outpost
John Cinque/Freedom Outpost
Police Capt. Geoffrey Morgan, of the Branford Police Department, reportedly informed Freedom Outpost that Peterson has been placed on extended leave over the incident. Further, Police Chief Kevin Halloran reportedly confirmed the allegation to the Brandford Seven.
“We treat every complaint to our agency concerning our officers with the utmost of seriousness. This, like any other allegation will be thoroughly investigated and if any law, departmental rule or regulation has been violated the officer will be held accountable,” he reportedly said.
When we contacted the Branford Police Department to confirm the reports, we were transferred to Capt. Geoffrey Morgan’s line and got the voicemail. This story will be updated if Morgan responds to our request for additional information.
We will also attempt to contact Officer Peterson to get his side of the story, however, he will likely be unable to comment due to the ongoing investigation.
See more the conversation below:
John Cinque/Freedom Outpost
John Cinque/Freedom Outpost
Freedom Outpost provides even more links to screengrabs of Facebook conversations involving Peterson here.