The city manager of Lynwood, California, is facing backlash after he posted an image on social media claiming “chickens” had “come home to roost” following the ambush shooting of two sheriff’s deputies in neighboring Compton.
According to screenshots captured by Fox 11’s Bill Melugin, Lynwood City Manager Jose Ometeotl posted an image on Instagram depicting Malcolm X and the words “Chickens come home to roost.”
“The fact that someone randomly opened fire on deputies is to be expected in the society we live in today,” Mr. Ometeotl’s reported caption read, in part. His Instagram account has since been made private.
Here is the full post from before he made his account private. @FOXLA pic.twitter.com/ETAmv3ekcg
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) September 13, 2020
The post came one day after two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies were both shot in the head in an ambush attack as they sat in a patrol car in Compton. Both deputies were listed in stable condition as of late Sunday night and are expected to survive. Authorities are still searching for the suspect.
In his post, Mr. Ometeotl denounced the shooting as “wholly unacceptable” but also accused “deputy gangs” of inflicting fear and violence in Compton, according to the screenshots.
“The political climate and leadership of Sheriff Villanueva has only sowed the seeds of anger and frustration in the community,” he reportedly wrote. “I pray for the deputies and their families while still demanding justice for Andres Guardado, [Breonna] Taylor, Tamir Rice, Ahmaud Arbery.”
The Lynwood City Council issued a statement Sunday distancing itself from the comments made by Mr. Ometeotl, who has served as the city’s manager for more than three years.
“On behalf of the hard-working families of Lynwood as well as the City’s employees and elected officials, we wish to send our heartfelt prayers to the families of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies recently injured in the line of duty,” the council’s statement read. “We also support every effort by the Sheriff’s Dept. to track down their attackers.
“There have been comments made today (Sunday) by our City Manager on his personal social media that are his personal opinions and don’t reflect the position of the Lynwood City Council,” the statement continued. “Today we are only thinking of the two deputies and are praying for their recovery.”
