HOUSTON, Texas – Following the execution of a sheriff’s deputy in Harris County, graffiti images calling for violence against police have appeared on property around Houston, Texas. The emojis show a police officer with a gun pointed to his head. These taggings follow the murder of Harris County Deputy Darren Goforth who was shot in the head execution-style Friday night as he was putting gas in his patrol car. The suspect who shot the uniformed deputy unloaded 15 rounds into his head and body.
Click2 Houston reported that a pair of emojis calling for violence against police were found underneath the Yale Street rail bridge in the Washington Heights area, and at a Panda Express restaurant not far from the Yale Street location. These offensive images appeared just days after the deputy’s murder.
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ABC13 reported that there are at least four spots in the trendy Washington Avenue area, just west of downtown Houston, that have been defaced by this anti-cop graffiti.
The president of the Houston Police Officer Union (HPOU), Ray Hunt, told Breitbart Texas, “We are extremely concerned about this. This is disgusting and heartless. Deputy Goforth’s funeral is still being planned. I would hate for his children to see this. I am shocked at how heartless people can be.”
Vice President of the Harris County Deputies Organization (HCDO) Eric Batton told Breitbart Texas, “It’s a senseless attack against the social structure of American society, and demonstrates the collective lack of intelligence associated with the people who have this train of thought.”
Robert Goerlitz, the president of the Harris County deputies union said when he was interviewed by Click2 Houston, “We’ve always felt in some way that we’ve always been a target.” He continued, “But now it’s bringing it a little more realistic here at home.”
The president of the organization, a deputy himself said, “We’re just watching each other’s back a little bit closer, taking care of our brothers and sisters out there, being there for one another whenever we need to be. Don’t let someone walk into something that they don’t need to walk into.”
Jackson County Sheriff Aj (Andy) Louderback told Breitbart Texas, “The inflammatory pictures and rhetoric that has surrounded recent shooting incidents is not constructive as the law enforcement community and other affected communities deal with these tragedies. This rhetoric needs to stop as we gather the facts. As we investigate these incidents the facts will become clear and the process will move forward. There is nothing to be gained by anyone from this hateful and inflammatory speech and resulting actions.” Louderback is the immediate past president of the Sheriff’s Association of Texas and works with lawmakers on Texas legislation.
The man accused of shooting Deputy Goforth, Shannon Miles, appeared in court in Houston on Monday surrounded by a dozen deputies, as reported by Breitbart Texas. Miles has been charged with capital murder of a peace officer. The felony charge can include the death penalty.
During a press conference the day after the murder in Harris County, Texas, Sheriff Ron Hickman answered media inquiries as to the motivation of this alleged killer.
As reported by Breitbart Texas’ Bob Price, “This rhetoric has gotten out of control,” Sheriff Hickman said during the press conference attended by two Breitbart Texas journalists.
“We’ve heard ‘black lives matter,’ ‘all lives matter,’ well cops’ lives matter too,” said the leader of the third largest sheriff’s office in the country.
The visibly emotional Hickman continued, “Why don’t we just drop the qualifier and say ‘lives matter.’ Take that to the bank.”
“At this point,” referring to the executed deputy, the sheriff said, “he was only targeted because he was wearing a uniform.”
Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson joined Hickman during the press conference and emphatically stated, “It is time for the silent majority in this country to support law enforcement.” She added, “There are a few bad apples in every profession.” Anderson, a former prosecutor and criminal court judge continued, “But that does not mean that there should be open warfare declared on law enforcement.”
The escalation of anti-white and anti-cop rhetoric has been building since militant black activists began marching in support of #BlackLivesMatter after the suicide of Sandra Bland approximately 30 miles north of Houston in Waller County, Texas.
At protests at the jail where Bland killed herself, a radical activist called for all white people to be killed, and heavily armed members of the New Black Panther Party chanted “the revolution has started … off the pigs.”
A Texas-based internet radio show called for the lynching of whites and the killing of police officers.
On August 9th, Breitbart Texas reported that a self-proclaimed “nappy-haired militant non-compliant Negro” named “Sunshine,” stood in front of a group of white journalists and bloggers and said that all white people should be killed. When asked whether she really believed that, she responded, “You’re damn right I do! You think I am scared to say that to you?!”
On Tuesday before Deputy Goforth was murdered on Friday, “Sunshine” took to her Texas-based radio show and continued her propagation of hate speech against both whites and police. Breitbart Texas reported that on her show, called “Sunshine’s F***ing Opinion Radio Show,” people called in and demanded that people take to the streets in gangs and lynch white people and kill cops.
As reported by Breitbart Texas, funeral services for Deputy Darren Goforth has been set for Friday at 11:00 a.m. at Second Baptist Church in Houston. The mega-church is the fifth largest in the country and can accommodate thousands of people.
This article has been updated with additional information.
Lana Shadwick is a contributing writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and an associate judge. Follow her on Twitter @LanaShadwick2