The Erie police officer apparently investigated for a Facebook comment that appeared to condone shooting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the head is no longer employed with the Erie Police Department, according to a Tuesday news release.
The officer, Haili Shimko, was accused of posting a comment that read, “they wear armor so headshots would work better.” Shimko received widespread attention on social media after her alleged comment was posted by the X account Libs of TikTok, a right-wing political commentator with 4.6 million followers.
Shimko had already been under investigation after a resident submitted a complaint to the department about a social media comment around 7:30 a.m. Jan. 25, about three days before the Libs of TikTok post on X, according to the department.
Erie police found that Shimko engaged in multiple violations of department directives, but did not say which directives were violated or how many, according to the release.
In its post Jan. 28, Libs of TikTok shared a screenshot of the alleged comment from the officer, which appeared to refer to ICE agents being shot, according to Libs of TikTok’s post. The officer’s comment appeared to have been in response to another Facebook comment suggesting ICE could be shot in the chest, according to the post.
“The Erie Police Department is committed to lawful, ethical, and professional policing,” the department wrote in its release, adding: “We recognize that serving this community is a privilege, and we do not take that responsibility lightly.”
The Daily Camera could not independently verify the post that the officer allegedly commented on.
Erie police spokesperson Amber Luttrell did not confirm to the Camera whether Shimko was fired or chose to resign, referring to the matter as a personnel issue.