Screenshots of a supposed Milwaukee police officer posting a racist comment went viral. MPD says he is not an employee.

Ashley Luthern
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Screenshots of Larry Maxwell circulated on social media, but Milwaukee Police released a statement saying no one named Larry Maxwell works for the department. The screenshots showed that Larry Maxwell had made racist comments on Facebook.

Screenshots circulating online Wednesday showed a man purporting to be a Milwaukee police officer posting a sexist and racist comment on Facebook.

But the name on the Facebook account, "Larry Maxwell," did not match the name of any current city employees, according to salary records. 

The Milwaukee Police Department confirmed it has no employee with that name and neither does the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office.

The two agencies "are aware of offensive social media comments" and the "matter is currently under investigation," according to a statement from the Milwaukee Police Department.

The screenshots spread across social media and were sent to several Milwaukee media outlets, including the Journal Sentinel's main Facebook account. Journal Sentinel reporters could not find the original profile page or offensive comment on Wednesday.

In the screenshot, the person's profile listed their job as "deputy at Milwaukee Police Department." Deputy is a title used almost exclusively to refer to rank-and-file members of sheriffs' departments, not police departments.

The Milwaukee Police Department does have a social media policy that prohibits members from posting statements that would "bring discredit" to the department.

The policy bans officers from posting "obscene or sexually explicit language, images, acts and statements or other forms of speech that ridicule, malign, disparage, or otherwise express bias against any race, any religion, or any protected class of individuals."

The penalty for breaking the policy can range from a reprimand to firing.

In 2018, an officer involved in the arrest and tasing of a Milwaukee Bucks player was fired for posting racist memes on Facebook. At the time, Police Chief Alfonso Morales said the officer's comments affected his credibility and "ability to testify in future hearings as a member of this department."

Contact Ashley Luthern at ashley.luthern@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @aluthern.