Mercer University has closed a matter involving one of its former police officers.
Mark Teems, formerly of Mercer University Atlanta’s police force at the Cecil B. Day campus, no longer works with the university after comments found on his Facebook page called for murder.
Screenshots sent to 11Alive showed comments on a news story related to the death of Georgia Tech student, Scout Schultz, by a Facebook account with Teems’ name and photo.
The comment made from the account said: “I'm sick of the BS. Declare Martial Law and start killing these Asshats!!!"
Another post was found on the same day showing a video posted by an account called Coalition for Trump Superstore showing protesters being hosed down by a water cannon. Teems’ account shared the video and left a status saying “This should be standard for EVERY large cities Police Dept!!!”
Teems has since changed both his profile and cover photos on Facebook and has removed the offensive posts from his timeline. He maintained his innocence telling 11Alive he did not know what the station was talking about. Comments under the cover photo post showed Teems saying it was not him who posted the comments.
“My FB acct was hacked. I did NOT make that remark!!! This hacker has cost me a good job,” Teems said in the comments.
Other comments by Teems showed he reached out to 11Alive saying he is innocent, but that “retractions are hard to get.” He is seeking legal council.
Mercer Police Chief Gary Collins and Mercer Director of Media Relations Kyle Sears both confirmed that Teems no longer worked for the university but would not comment further.
The official statement from the University is as follows:
“Mark Teems is no longer employed by Mercer University.”
Former Mercer police officer called for murder on Facebook
