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WEBVTT NOT GET HIS JOB BACK. >> MY FATHER WAS MURDERED WHEN I WAS A KID. >> AN EMOTIONAL FIRED MILWAUKEE POLICE OFFICER ERIK ANDRADE SAID THAT’S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY HE WANTED TO BE A POLICE OFFICER. BUT ANDRADE ENDED LOSING HIS JOB WHEN HE JOKED ON FACEBOOK ABOUT THE TASING ARREST OF THE BUCKS STERLING BROWN. QUOTE NICE MEETING STERLING BROWN OF THE MILWAUKEE BUCKS AT WORK THIS MORNING. LOL HASHTAG, FEAR THE DEAR. MANY FOUND THIS POST AND OTHERS TO BE RACIST. >> I’M A REAL PERSON. A REAL COP. AND I TAKE PRIDE IN EVERYTHING I DO. AND I’M SORRY FOR HAVING TO TAKE YOUR TIME LIKE THIS. AND SITTING IN FRONT OF YOU BECAUSE I NEVER DREAMED OF IT. TO BE HONEST, LIKE I SAID, IT’S A DISGRACE TO ME, MY FAMILY, AND EVERYTHING I STAND UP FOR. >> MILWAUKEE POLICE CHIEF ALFONSO MORALES DEFENDED HIS DECISION TO FIRE ANDRADE SAYING THE FACEBOOK POSTS BROUGHT NEGATIVE ATTENTION TO THE DEPARTMENT. THE CHIEF CLAIMED THE DA’S OFFICE WARNED HIM IT WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO USE TESTIMONY FROM ANDRADE IN ANY FUTURE CASES. >> AND BY REMOVING THAT TOOL, THE ABILITY TO TESTIFY, THAT BASICALLY PUTS ME AS THE LEADER OF THE CITY OF MILWAUKEE POLICE DEPARTMENT IN A POSITION TO SAY, I CAN’T USE THIS OFFICER OUT ON THE STREETS. >> ANDRADE SAID HE WAS A BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN AND HE STILL WANTS TO DO GOOD THINGS FOR THE CITY. >> I KNOW THIS HAPPENED FOR A REASON REGARDLESS IF I GET MY JOB BACK OR NOT. THE LORD KNOWS MY HEART. >> WE LEARNED THIS AFTERNOON THAT ANDRADE RAN INTO A BURNING BUILDING TWO YEAR AGO TO SAVE LIVES AND ANDRADE’S ATTORNEY POINTED OUT NONE OF THE OFFICERS INVOLVED IN THE ACTUAL TASING AND ARREST OF STERLING BROWN HAVE LOST THEIR JOBS

Advertisement Officer fired after social media mocking of Sterling Brown will not get job back Police Chief Alfonso Morales says former Officer Erik Andrade's post violated departmental social media policy Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A Milwaukee police officer fired over a social media post about Bucks player Sterling Brown will not get his job back, the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission ruled Wednesday.Chief Alfonso Morales fired Erik Andrade in September, several months after the incident outside a Walgreens store in which officers used a stun gun before arresting Brown, then a rookie on the team."Nice meeting Sterling Brown of the Milwaukee Bucks at work this morning! LOL HASHTAG, fear the dear," Andrade posted to Facebook hours later. "My father was murdered when I was a kid," Andrade said during an appeal hearing Wednesday before the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission. He said that was one of the reasons why he wanted to be a police officer. "I'm a real person, a real cop, and I take pride in everything I do. And I'm sorry for having to take your time like this and sitting in front of you because I never dreamed of it. To be honest, like I said, it's a disgrace to me, my family, and everything I stand up for," Andrade said. Morales testified Tuesday that Andrade violated the department's social media policy. The district attorney added that the incident would make it difficult to use Andrade's testimony in any future criminal cases. "Now if we have an officer fronting on the street that the district attorney says they will not use. Then I can't allow that officer to function out on the street," Morales said. Andrade's attorney, Brendan Matthews, countered, saying that while Andrade made a mistake, it shouldn't cost him his job. "He's a human being like everyone else in this room," Matthews said. "We all make mistakes. He never meant to offend anyone, he's not a monster, he's not racist, he's not the person the media wants you to think he is."Andrade's attorney also pointed to the fact that none of the officers involved in the actual tasing and arrest of Brown have lost their jobs.WISN 12 News learned Wednesday afternoon that Andrade ran into a burning building two years ago to save lives.