Tallahassee, FL – Recent social media posts revealed that the Tallahassee Police Department Tactical Apprehension and Control Team took part in a training associated with Eddie Gallagher, a retired Navy SEAL accused of numerous war crimes. Most notably, Gallagher was accused of fatally stabbing an injured 17 year old ISIS prisoner named Khaled Jamal Abdullah, posing with the body and sending the picture to friends. Prosecutors painted a picture of Gallagher as needlessly violent and bloodthirsty, bragging about his number of kills. He even went so far as to gloat about murdering innocent civilians. His own fellow SEAL team members described him as “freaking evil” and said he was “perfectly OK with killing anybody who moves”. Gallagher’s website promotes a “warrior culture” with the tagline, “A true warrior seeks only the battle” and features a logo and merchandise with the phrase “seek battle”.

The City of Tallahassee has no business having any affiliation with this man. TPD’s statement that there is no relationship is contradicted by posts made by Eddie Gallagher and Stronghold SOF Solutions. TPD has not answered any follow up questions or explained how the production of their recent promotional video came about. We have no knowledge of Gallagher or Stronghold Solutions role in its creation. TPD officers have been empowered to patrol our streets without any mechanism for external investigation of their conduct. We do not need these officers to be trained in violence by a bloodthirsty war criminal. We do not need our city to be affiliated with the bigotry, racism and transphobia on display on Eddie Gallagher’s social media.

Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) condemns this horrifying partnership and is disappointed to see yet another decision by Police Chief Revell which undermines public trust. TPD made no public announcement of this collaboration, and it would likely have remained unknown to the very citizens who are subject to policing by TPD officers. We call on City Manager Reese Goad to fire Police Chief Revell, for a public apology and for increased transparency of TPD trainings and expenditures.

#DemilitarizeTPD #CommunityControlofPolice #CPACNow #CareNotCops

#TallahasseeFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #TallahasseeCommunityActionCommitteeTCAC