Sanford, Fla., police officer Andrew Ricks ended his cop career by taking the stage last week and singing “Let the Killing Begin” in full uniform while backed up by Vital Remains, a death metal band, reports the Orlando Sentinel. Ricks already had notified the city of his intention to resign effective Friday, but Police Chief Cecil B. Smith relieved him of his duties Wednesday morning, records show. “An incident of this nature erodes the thin fibers of trust which already exist between the community and the police and it will not tolerated,” Smith said.
Ricks was on duty when he sang at the West End Trading Co. in Sanford. Someone in the audience sent a video of Ricks’ performance to the police department late Tuesday, and he was fired the next day. State records show Ricks worked first for Apopka Police Department but resigned after six months in 2009. Hired by Sanford in January 2010, he advanced to police Instructor. Sanford drew the media spotlight in 2012 when George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch coordinator, shot and killed Trayvon Martin, a black teenager.