Snoop Dogg calls out former Prospect officer for racist messages

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - The attorney for the former police officer who made racist statements says his client was "just playing."

Those messages sent the officer, which are now public, are causing outrage here and around the country.

Todd Shaw had a career in law enforcement that dated back more than 25 years. His career exploded when disturbing messages became public on Friday.

>> Read letter, Shaw's Facebook messages (WARNING: Contains offensive language)

The county attorney released statements by Shaw calling them "highly disturbing racist and threatening Facebook messages" that were sent to a Louisville police recruit who had sought Shaw's advice.

Among other things, Shaw advised the recruit to shoot black kids caught smoking marijuana, and then sexually assault their parents.

According to his LinkedIn page, Shaw was an officer at the Huntsville Police Department in Alabama back in 1989. He also cited that he worked for Kentucky State Police, the Louisville Metro Police Department, and most recently as the assistant police chief at Prospect.

What got quite a bit of attention on Monday was a post by rapper Snoop Dogg on his Instagram. He wrote,"Expose his b*&^% A$#. Todd Shaw not too short."

Snoop Dogg is referring to the former Prospect assistant police chief Todd Shaw. He says "not too short" because that is another rapper whose name is also Todd Shaw.

WAVE 3 News made several requests to Shaw's lawyer, Michael Burns, but he did not return any messages on Monday. Burns told the Associated Press that Shaw was just "playing" with these and other messages, and that he "treated all people fairly" as a law enforcement officer.

PREVIOUS STORIES
+ 'If black shoot them': Letter reveals comments made by former Prospect asst. police chief
+ Demands for widespread action following officer's racist Facebook comments
+ From the News Director: What we know, what we don't, and why we fought for the Todd Shaw messages

A former LMPD officer, Richard Gibbs, said he knew Shaw and was shocked when he read what Shaw shared on social media.

"This shows me that this person has an extreme indifference to human life," Gibbs said. "This is a set back for the community, for the police department, and it needs to be more transparent."

Todd Shaw's LinkedIn profile is quite lengthy and lists strong communication and relationship building skills as his strongest assets.

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