Black Officers Call for Reporter to Resign After This Offensive Joke About Michael Brown

Lezley McSpadden, the mother of Ferguson teenager Michael Brown, was invited to the Democratic National Convention alongside the other "Mothers of the Movement" to speak on Tuesday. However, a St. Louis city officer and a Fox 2 News reporter reportedly took issue with McSpadden's appearance onstage and expressed their opinions on social media.

According to the St. Louis American, Lt. Jerry Foster, the city officer, wrote his offensive post on Facebook on Friday. "Why not let them speak. It is the Democratic Criminal Party. How fitting," Foster wrote, the St. Louis American reported.

Bobby Hughes, a reporter at Fox 2 News, replied to Foster's Facebook post with an equally twisted comment. "She's going to talk about the new lead diet she's endorsed," Hughes wrote, according to the St. Louis American, referencing Brown's shooting death. "Five servings and you can lose 200 lbs in two years easily."

In 2014, the 18-year-old was shot and killed by then-Officer Darren Wilson. More than three months after the shooting, a St. Louis County grand jury declined to indict Wilson and cleared him of any wrongdoing. After an investigation, the U.S. Justice Department decided not to pursue other charges.

The inflammatory comments were met with much criticism. The Ethical Society of Police, a black police organization that seeks to alleviate the racial and ethical challenges that exist within the St. Louis police department, has been vocal about the situation.

"The trivial manner in which Mr. Hughes refers to the brutal death of Michael Brown is disheartening," the organization said in a statement, according to the St. Louis American. "We should all seek to behave in a manner that's humane to others, especially when someone has experienced such a loss as Mrs. McSpadden and the Brown family." 

Hughes has issued an apology, but members of the community are calling for a Fox 2 News boycott until the reporter resigns from his position, the St. Louis American reported.

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