A longtime Spokane, Washington, police officer was fired in May after a seven-month investigation for putting a "Let's Go Brandon" bumper sticker on his police cruiser, Spokane's Spokesman-Review reports.
49-year-old Bradley J. Moon, a 30-year veteran of the force who was named the department's employee of the year in 2005, was spotted with the sticker on his vehicle in the summer of 2023.
In October of that year, Moon told supervisors he was unaware of the sticker's political meaning, saying he bought it in support of a colleague's son who had recovered from a "medical episode." But according to the report, body cam video shows conversations between Moon and other officers that contradict his original story.
The phrase became an internet meme in 2021 meaning "F — Joe Biden. When a member of the public reportedly confronted Moon about the sticker, he told her to "get a life and find something better to do."
The Office of the Police Ombudsman in a report issued last month said Moon had bragged to other people that then-mayor of Spokane Nadine Woodward complimented the sticker.
Another officer said he was "aware of the derogatory meaning of 'Let's Go Brandon' toward President Biden, but did not give it much thought at the time."
The ombudsman also determined that Moon had issued false or misleading statements and participated in prohibited speech, which are violations of both city and department policy.
Four supervisors that Moon reported to were reprimanded for failing to address the issue when it first happened, according to the report.
In January, the Spokane Police Department's Administrative Review Panel concluded the sticker was "clearly" a political statement "that damages the reputation of [the] SPD."
The report added, "The sticker was obviously inappropriate and should have been recognized by any supervisor as a violation of department policy.
"At a minimum, any supervisor should have recognized that a sticker with that kind of political messaging would be harmful to SPD's reputation," it said.
Kate McManus ✉
Kate McManus is a New Jersey-based Newsmax writer who's spent more than two decades as a journalist.
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