From The Tribune staff reports
BIRMINGHAM — The daughter of Jefferson County Sheriff Mark Pettway posted videos on TikTok about the Blue Lives Matter movement.
Gabrielle Pettway said although her father is in law enforcement, she will not get behind the movement.
“My dad is the sheriff of the largest county in the state of Alabama,” Gabrielle Pettway said in the video. “It’s scary at times, we’ve gotten death threats before but I’m still not going to sit up here and say, ‘Blue Lives Matter’ because it’s undermining the racism and corruption built into the whole blue system.
“Your boyfriend’s a cop, I don’t want to hear you saying, ‘Blue Lives Matter’ what I want to see though is what you’re doing to hold him accountable. What kind of conversations are y’all having with your brothers, dads, moms, whosever in law enforcement to hold them accountable and making sure they’re part of the solution and not the problem.
“It could be as simple as asking them, ‘What are you doing to protect black and brown people? What are you doing to stop police brutality? Or at least bring awareness to it? What are you posting and sharing and retweeting on social media right now about this issue? Are you being vocal about it?
“They might be risking their lives every day when they go to work, but at the same time, they chose that. Black people are risking their lives just by being black. Given the choice, I would choose that again but I wouldn’t choose oppression, too. Why does that have to come with being black?
“Anyways, I’m going to finish this rant and go back to cleaning my room but if you feel that there’s nothing wrong with saying Blue Lives Matter, you’re privileged. It’s inconsiderate, it’s insensitive, it’s distasteful, and it’s racist.”
The videos have been removed from TikTok.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office has not responded to the posts.