Now former Sanford, FL police officer Andrew Ricks recently made headlines when he first, belted out “let the killing begin” onstage with Vital Remains and got fired shortly after for seemingly doing just that. The backlash from metalheads has spilled over to the Sanford police department, with many thinking Ricks‘s termination was unjust. Police chief Cecil E. Smith has since clarified to Thedailybeast.com that Ricks himself had put in his own resignation in the wake of uproar over the video, with the department moving up the date of his resignation due to community pressure.
He also mentioned that Ricks had previously violated other policies as well, such as failing to turn on his body camera during community contacts and putting a training officer in a situation they weren’t fit for. The chief also insisted that Ricks‘ musical preferences weren’t why he was let go:
“There is absolutely no concern with us with anyone listening to heavy metal. That’s your prerogative and your choice of music that you want to listen to.”
He further stated that had Ricks been in good standing prior to the incident and not first handed in his own resignation, he likely only would have been disciplined:
“For folks to believe that he was terminated because of the circumstances isn’t true. What would have probably happened if Officer Ricks had remained on the job, is that we would have completed the internal investigation, for which he would have most likely received some form of discipline.”
