A Virginia police officer who was fired earlier this year after donating to the legal defense fund for Kyle Rittenhouse wants his job back.
William Kelly, who had served as a lieutenant with the Norfolk Police Department for 19 years, spoke out after Rittenhouse, 18, was found not guilty on Nov. 19 of intentional homicide and other charges related to the fatal shootings of two men and the injuring of a third during a riot in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year. The teenager says he was acting in self-defense.
“I felt like I was … a sacrificial lamb,” Kelly said, according to a WAVY report. “Like they were willing to discard me in an effort to make the pressure from certain parts of the public go away.”
Kelly was relieved from his position in April after it was discovered that he had anonymously donated to the defense fund for Rittenhouse using an email associated with his email address at the department, according to the Guardian.
“I donated $25, off-duty, of my own money,” Kelly said, adding that he also provided the boy with “words of encouragement.”
The message, according to reports, said, “God bless. Thank you for your courage. Keep your head up. You’ve done nothing wrong. Every rank and file police officer supports you. Don’t be discouraged by actions of the political class of law enforcement leadership.”
Kelly said he hadn’t thought much of it until he received a call notifying him that the NPD was receiving complaints about his donation to help Rittenhouse.
Norfolk City Manager Chip Filer said in a statement at the time that he and Police Chief Larry Boone had concluded that Kelly’s actions were in “violation of City and departmental policies.”
“His egregious comments erode the trust between the Norfolk Police Department and those they are sworn to serve,” Filer said. “The City of Norfolk has a standard of behavior for all employees, and we will hold staff accountable.”
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The report from WAVY said Kelly plans to appeal the decision and hopes a hearing will be scheduled for late January.
“I think if the city were to give my case another look, if they were to review the facts in a neutral detached unemotional way of thinking, I think they would come to the conclusion that what I did is a First Amendment right,” Kelly said. “Every American has the right to make comments like that and make donations to causes that they support. The fact that I’m a police officer doesn’t deprive me of that right.”
Conservative commentator Candace Owens issued a $202,000 check to Kelly after Rittenhouse’s acquittal. “I said I want to raise $100,000 for him. Instead, we raised north of $240,000,” Owens said during her show Candace.
