Just over a month after being put on administrative leave, police officer Charles Anderson is finally fired.
What we know:
- After a disciplinary hearing Thursday, September 12, the Muskegon Police Department has fired Anderson after an alarming discovery in his home in August by Rob Mathis and his wife, Reyna.
- The couple toured the officer’s property and were ready to place an offer on a home when they discovered multiple Confederate flags in the home and a KKK application hung up and framed in one of Anderson’s bedrooms.
- After seeing the KKK memorabilia and other racist insignia Mathis decided it would not be right if he did not speak up and report it. He wrote in a Facebook post “I feel sick to my stomach knowing that I walk to the home of one of the most racist people in Muskegon hiding behind his uniform and possibly harassing people of color and different nationalities.”
- After the incident, the cop’s past was brought to light. In 2009 he fatally shot a black man, 23-year-old Julius Johnson during a traffic stop. The officer claimed that it was self-defense however, Johnson’s sister told investors she heard her brother “beg for his life before Anderson shot him.” A Muskegon County prosecutor stated that they would wait for the conclusion of the police investigation before they would reevaluate Johnson’s killing.
Eric Hood, president of the Muskegon County chapter of the NAACP, has asked for all of Anderson’s interactions with people of color to be reviewed.
