September 29, 2021

Re: Mark Ritchie Must Not be Returned to Duty

We have previously written about Mark Ritchie, who as a Sheriff’s Deputy shared a mocking and pornographic image based on a photo of the murder of Mr George Floyd.

There will be a Civil Service hearing on October 4th regarding Ritchie’s reinstatement as a Sheriff’s Deputy, and the NAACP San Diego Branch has been asked for comment.

There has been much discussion of the “vulgarity” of the image, as though THAT were the problem.  The real problem is that Ritchie, who has a history of questionable use of force, felt it in any way appropriate to mock a man who was heartlessly murdered, and re-traumatize a community in pain over the brutal death of one of their own.  

This demonstrates, yes, an utter lack of empathy, but also terrible judgement, given the predictable consequences to himself of his action.

We suppose some might (mistakenly) argue that the police don’t need empathy to do their jobs, but we can’t imagine anyone of any persuasion thinking that good judgement isn’t an essential part of the job of a law enforcement officer.

It would be the height of folly and recklessness to hand a gun and a badge to someone who has already killed under very questionable circumstances, and now has again proven their lack of impulse control.

We strongly oppose the reinstatement of Mark Ritchie.