Nate Silvester, the Idaho cop who mocked Lebron James in a viral video on TikTok, has been fired. The former cop recorded the video in response to the basketball star’s angry reaction to the April 20 death of Ma’Khia Bryant. The 16-year-old African-American girl was fatally shot by an Ohio cop while responding to a domestic disturbance call.
According to Fox News, Silvester was terminated from the Bellevue Marshals Office on Thursday. The now out-of-job Silvester was initially placed on a one-week suspension after he shared the April 24 video. Responding to his termination, Silvester told the news outlet he believes he’s the “latest target of cancel culture.”
“None of my other videos that depicted me in my uniform or involving body camera footage, none of those mattered. They didn’t care about those. It wasn’t until my LeBron James TikTok struck a political nerve that they started to pay attention and complain about it and came up with forms of discipline,” Silvester added.
But Bellevue Mayor Ned Burns said Silvester was terminated from the force because of “continued policy violations,” New York Post reported. “The decision was solely made by the command structure within the Bellevue Marshals office and was not influenced in any way by me or by the City Council,” Burns clarified. The mayor also called for “calm and understanding” in the wake of the announcement.
In a statement on Friday, the city also explained Silvester wasn’t fired for the “content of his speech” but rather his “failure to follow clearly laid out and well established policy.”
Silvester recorded the viral video in response to James’ social media comments on the shooting of Bryant. In the since-deleted April 21 tweet, the Los Angeles Lakers star reportedly posted a photo of the officer who allegedly shot Bryant. He captioned the photo, “YOU’RE NEXT #ACCOUNTABILITY”, and ended the post with an hourglass emoji.
In the TikTok video, Silvester pretended he was on the phone with James and was seeking the basketball star’s advice on how to de-escalate a fictional incident involving a Black person attempting to stab another Black individual, New York Post reported.
“So you don’t care if a black person kills another black person, but you do care if a white cop kills a black person, even if he’s doing it to save the life of another black person?” Silvester said in the video which has been viewed over a million times.
“I mean it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but then again you are really good at basketball so I guess I’ll take your word for it,” the fired cop added.
Despite his termination, Silvester said he’s considering joining another law enforcement agency and he has even received offers.
Anthony Madu, the 14-year-old Nigerian dancer from Lagos who gained admission to a prestigious ballet…
Actor-host Wayne Brady recently opened up about his early financial struggles in his now thriving…
Mia Arianna, also known as @mia.ariannaa on TikTok, helped her son become an honorary team…
Alvin Gauthier, a Grand Prairie USPS postman, recently went above and beyond to brighten a…
Maj. Gen. Fatuma Gaiti Ahmed is the first female commander of the air force and…
Benjamin E. Mays High School brought together its 272 senior class members for a meeting…
Afrika Owes' emotional response to learning that she had passed the bar exam on her…
A 49-year-old New York attorney was on April 26 sentenced to 10 years in federal…
During an appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show on Wednesday, pop legend Cher opened up…
Authorities in Florida said an 11-year-old boy was accidentally shot and killed by his 14-year-old…
The famous Taylor Schlitz family is making headlines once more as the youngest of the…
Sony Pictures Entertainment has appointed Tahra Grant as its Chief Communications Officer. She replaces Robert…
Meet Ashley M. Fox, the founder of Empify and the first in her family to…
Tyra Banks, the iconic former host of Dancing With the Stars, has made a delightful…
A Brazilian woman named Érika de Souza, 42, is under investigation for manslaughter after authorities…