Peoria’s NAACP chapter is calling for the immediate termination of Peoria High School’s resource officer.
The backlash comes in response to a Facebook post by Officer Ryan Schubert Mon. that said he was going to urinate on a statue of Martin Luther King, Jr. Hours later, Schubert followed up with another post saying his original comment wasn’t meant to offend anyone.
NAACP chapter president Pastor Marvin Hightower says the incident shouldn’t be taken lightly, particularly since Schubert works at a school with a student body that’s 64 percent African American.
“It’s a hugely minority school. To have someone that’s supposed to be protecting our children, I’m appalled I’m really upset about it, I really am,” Hightower said. “He needs to go.”
The Rev. Hightower met with Peoria High’s principal Annette Coleman Tues.
He says Officer Schubert has been temporarily removed from his post, pending a decision from the district’s board. Schubert could not be reached for comment.
The Peoria Public School District emailed a statement Tues., saying: "While the posting appears to have been made during non-work hours, the words shared in the post do not align with our District’s core values of respect and integrity."
Officer Schubert allegedly posted the comment from his home, in Pekin.
"It needs to be known, especially to him or anyone that has that mindset, that racism won’t play in Peoria,” Hightower said.
