SALISBURY, Md. - A now-deleted Facebook post from Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis is causing controversy in the county.
Lewis' post referred to protesters outside a Ravens Game on Sunday. The protesters were demonstrating next to a Maryland State Police trooper. In the post, Lewis referred to the protesters as "fist wielding, black power activists" who decried law enforcement officers' work.
"Shame on every one of you who continues to blame the police and our state and federal government for refusing to accept responsibility for your own failures and your own perceived inequities," Lewis wrote.
Some local activist groups called Lewis' behavior unacceptable.
"At a time when threes a lot of racial turmoil and a time where a lot of people are using divisive rhetoric, for you to use that type of divisive rhetoric and then to expect trust and loyalty of people you are supposed to protect and serve is not going to happen," says Jamaad Gould with the group SURJ Delmarva. "There's no way people of color can trust someone that says 'one of their own' rather than 'one of our own.'"
Wicomico County NAACP President Mary Ashanti says Lewis' comments are not representative of most local law enforcement. She says focusing on the post is wasting energy better spent on finding a new sheriff when Lewis is up for re-election.
"He's just showing people how he is," she says. "For those folks who did not vote in the last election, I would encourage them to vote in this election."
WBOC spoke with many in Wicomico County who said they understood where Lewis was coming from when he wrote the post.
"He has excellent values," says Carolyn Norcross of Salisbury. "We should support our law officers more and I agree with everything he said."
Lewis declined an interview with WBOC, saying the post spoke for itself.
