Music

Death metal cop relieved of duty for singing onstage in uniform

by Jeremy Mersereau

American police officers don’t have the best reputation these days, but should they be stripped of their authority just for their taste in music? What about singing lyrics about killing onstage while in uniform? Well, that’s a bit less of a grey area, or at least that’s the way a Florida police department sees it.

Officer Andrew Ricks, a six-year veteran of the Sanford, Florida police department, has been relieved of his law enforcement authority after he was caught on video singing with a death metal band. Ricks attended a show by Rhode Island death metal lifers Vital Remains, where he joined the band onstage for a few moments while in uniform and helped out on vocal duties with a song called “Let The Killing Begin” from their album Dechristianize. Hmmm, perhaps not a belief system law enforcement want to be affiliated with.

“An incident of this nature erodes the thin fibers of trust which already exist between the community and the police, and it will not be tolerated within the Sanford Police Department,” Sanford police chief Cecil Smith said in a report, after stripping Ricks of his authority. What about the thin fibers of trust between the police and the metal community, sir? Sir? *gets dragged out of press room by cops in Morbid Angel tees*

Watch the video of Ricks onstage below:

[h/t WFTV]