A man was fired from an Oregon Nordstrom after he allegedly wrote a racially-charged Facebook message advocating killing police officers, KGW reported.
Aaron Hodges, of Portland, apparently took to Facebook to show frustration over the lack of indictments of white police officers for the deaths of unarmed black men, most notably Eric Garner of New York and Michael Brown of Missouri.
"Instead of slamming the police, I prefer a Kenny Fort approach. Every time an unarmed black man is killed, you kill a decorated white officer, on his door step in front of his family," Hodges allegedly wrote on Facebook. The post has since been deleted but screen shots have reportedly gone viral.
The company verified the comments came from Hodges' Facebook page, which states he works at Nordstrom in downtown Portland, after they were alerted to it last Friday, according to The Oregonian.
"Kenny Fort" is possibly a historical reference to Dr. Thomas Kenney, who in the 1800s settled in Texas and became friends with Native Americans, who later killed him in 1844, according to the Williamson County Historical Commission.
Nordstrom was slammed with online criticism after Hodges' comment. The retailer released a statement saying Hodges was no longer an employee.
"What our former employee chose to post from his personal account does not in any way reflect our views as a company," Nordstrom spokeswoman Tara Darrow told KGW. "We do not tolerate violence, violent conversation or threats of any kind."
Although Nordstrom employees are allowed to use social media, there are limits. It seems Hodges violated the company's code of conduct, which includes threats made online, The Oregonian reported.
Hodges told KPTV he did not mean for the comment to be taken as a literal threat. He said he wanted people to understand that the lives of police officers aren't the only ones that matter.
"(The comment) is out there to make them see the humanity of the other side," Hodges told the station.
He said he does not have animosity towards Nordstrom for firing him.
