Wayne Co. Asst. Prosecutor Resigns over Baltimore Post

An assistant Wayne County prosecutor resigned Friday after being disciplined for a Facebook message that said the way to end the violence in Baltimore was to shoot the protesters.

Criminal defense attorneys and a liberal statewide group said they were glad to see Teana Walsh leave the prosecutor’s office.

“You cannot be a member of law enforcement and decide you’re going to be judge, jury and executioner,” said Cliff Woodards II, a criminal defense attorney from Southfield.

Walsh, who was an assistant prosecutor for eight years, set off a firestorm by writing about the Baltimore riots on her Facebook page Monday night.

“Solution,” she wrote. “Simple. Shoot em. Period. End of discussion. I don’t care what causes the protesters to turn violent . . . what the ‘they did it because’ reason is . . . no way is this acceptable. Flipping disgusting.”

Teana Walsh

Walsh quickly deleted the post, but Woodards, who is friends with her on Facebook, took a screen shot of it and posted it on his page.

Fox 2 News learned about and reported on the post. As Progress Michigan and others railed against the comments, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office announced Friday that Walsh would resign.

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Aaron Herskovic, a Southfield attorney, said his bigger concern is others in law enforcement who share Walsh’s attitudes but keep them hidden.

“Unfortunately, I think there are others in her former office who fall into that category,” he said.

Woodards shared Herskovic’s concerns. He said he also was alarmed by a divide over Walsh’s comment that is playing out over social media.

She is drawing support from many whites and law enforcement officials while blacks are criticizing her, Woodards said.

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