‘All lives splatter’ Facebook post gets Washington detective suspended, sheriff says

Days after a protester was killed when a driver plowed through a demonstration in Seattle, a sheriff’s detective was suspended for saying “all lives splatter” in a Facebook post.

A photo on the Facebook page of Detective Mike Brown with the King County Sheriff’s Office shows a truck hitting people, a screenshot shared by King 5 shows. The words “all lives splatter” are above the photo, and the words “get your (expletive) off the road” are below.

Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht learned of the photo and put Brown on leave, the sheriff’s office said.

Brown’s post came after the death of Summer Taylor, a 24-year-old protester who was fatally struck Saturday when a driver went around law enforcement barricades on Interstate 5. A second protester was also injured, The Seattle Times reported.

“We value all members of our community and are committed to serving everyone equally, with dignity and respect,” Johanknecht said in a statement. “I will take swift action to thoroughly investigate when the conduct of Sheriff’s Office members fails to reflect our core values and violates Sheriff’s Office policy.”

The sheriff’s office is also investigating employees who interacted with the post, CBS reported.

Brown’s Facebook page has been removed, according to KIRO.

Brown is Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s cousin, KING 5 reported. Inslee released a statement about the alleged conduct on Twitter.

“I’m deeply disappointed and totally reject the language of my cousin Mike Brown who made inflammatory comments about recent protests,” Inslee said. “The language is unacceptable and just flat wrong, particularly from a law enforcement officer, as we try to heal the divisions of our community.”

This story was originally published July 7, 2020 at 12:45 PM with the headline "‘All lives splatter’ Facebook post gets Washington detective suspended, sheriff says."