TUCSON, AZ (FOX NEWS) A black veteran explained Monday morning on "Fox and Friends" why he felt compelled to praise Arizona police officers after getting pulled over last week.
Steven Hildreth Jr., a National Guard veteran who served in Iraq, told "Fox and Friends" that he was surprised to see his Facebook post blow up like it did. It's been liked by more than 600,000 people and shared over 300,000 times.
He said he feels that police officers "deserve to have a little recognition now and then."
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So, I'm driving to my office to turn in my weekly paperwork. A headlight is out. I see a Tucson Police Department squad...
Not all of the reaction has positive, however. Hildreth said some commenters called him a "sheep," while others wrote that they "wish the cops had killed [him]."
"I think they're angry because I dared to challenge their narrative," Hildreth said. "Because they believe that simply because I'm black I'm going to go along with what the Black Lives Matter movement goes along with without any independent critical thought."
Hildreth said he and police officers he's spoken to agree that police who abuse the power of the badge should be punished because they have betrayed the public's trust. But he said "extremists" within Black Lives Matter have drowned out moderate voices.
Read more at Fox News.