 Whistleblower fired for revealing cops threatened Obama while protecting him 
 
 By David Edwards 
 
 Thursday, February 21, 2013 14:20 EDT 
 
 A Richmond police officer who reported fellow cops for allegedly threatening President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama has been fired from his job on the force. Multiple sources confirmed that police unscrambled the effects of the whistleblower’s statement on tape to CBS 6. The man told CBS 6 reporter Sandra Jones he was ordered to police headquarters Tuesday afternoon where he was met by a several high-ranking police officials. The reason, he said, was because he violated police department policy by doing an interview with CBS 6 about the a May 5 incident involving the President and the First Lady. But a source within the Richmond Police Department (RPD), who does not want to reveal his identity for fear of retribution, is blowing the whistle on the department. Virginia employment attorney Thomas Robert pointed out that the officer should have been protected under the First Amendment because he was “speaking about a matter of public concern as a citizen.” 
 
 “It concerns me and it should concern others, if he was retaliated based upon his right to express his concern on this public matter as well as his opinion,” Roberts said. "There's no question that this will have a chilling effect upon other members of the police force who will be afraid if they speak out about a matter of public concern. They too may lose their job.” 
 
 Although a Secret Service investigation last year concluded that the officers had not violated the law with their comments about the president and first lady, two officers were fired and now want their jobs back. The whistleblower told CBS 6 last year that the inappropriate comments were made by a 20-year police veteran who was talking on the phone to an officer assigned to provide outside security for the president and first lady. So, you can take a couple of shots, you might have to kill yourself, but you can take a couple of shots.’” 
 
 He said that the supervisor made those comments to a sharpshooter on the day of the president’s visit to Richmond. The source also said that "another officer in the background started talking and he said, 'yeah, somebody should plant a bomb underneath the stage while they're on there and blow it up.' A RPD source also said the alleged comments, while not criminal in nature, are being investigated by the department for appropriate administrative action. “Unfortunately, the termination of the self-proclaimed ‘whistleblower’ does nothing to remedy the fact that his false allegations resulted in the termination of two officers,” James Towey, an attorney for the officers told WTVR in a statement. “Their careers were ended and they have gone through eight months of hell.” 
 
 Watch this video from WTVR, broadcast Feb. 20, 2013.
– So much for speaking up: Richmond police have fired a whistleblowing cop for claiming that two officers chatted about shooting and bombing President Obama while protecting him, Raw Story reports. The officer, who wasn't named, told WTVR last May that a supervisor had said to a police sharpshooter, "You’re down there right? So, you can take a couple of shots, you might have to kill yourself, but you can take a couple of shots." The supervisor allegedly discussed planting a bomb under the stage and dissed Michelle Obama, who was also there: "Nobody wants to see her anyway—unless she gets undressed or get [sic] naked." The whistleblowing cop said he was fired for ignoring department policy and giving the TV station an interview. But the two officers involved also lost their jobs: "Their careers were ended and they have gone through eight months of hell" over "false allegations," their lawyer tells WTVR.