DETROIT — The Detroit Police department announced today that Officer Gary Steele had been fired following an investigation into an incident where Steele documented on Snapchat his purposeful humiliation of Ariel Moore, a 23-year-old African American woman, while on duty. In response to his termination, state Rep. Leslie Love (D-Detroit) issued the following statement:
“I appreciate the diligent and deliberate investigation conducted by Chief Craig and his department and agree with the conclusion of their investigation. The actions of one bad police officer are not proof that all are bad; in fact, the way the chief and others in the department handled this matter is proof of the excellence still within the department. Former Officer Steele was unfit to be counted among the men and women who honorably serve our city and work so hard to keep everyone safe. He will no longer be able to tarnish the department or denigrate our citizens with his behavior. While the appropriate corrective action was taken today, the fact remains that there is a serious need for additional training around cultural sensitivity and diversity in our police departments to ensure something like this never happens again.”