Chris Vermillion (Facebook)
An Oklahoma woman exposed a man’s racist views Sept. 19 to draw attention to his threats against protesters. Brittney Lark, a Black woman who lives in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, responded and shared screenshots of a white male’s aggressive comments. Chris Vermillion posted the hostile remark, and Lark’s Facebook post gained dozens of shares since Monday morning.
“All cops are not bad,” Lark wrote on her page accompanied by the offending message. “We could get rid of the bad ones if it weren’t for so many racist citizens. This comment from Chris Vermillion is proof.”
“Better remember the last time Blacks got rowdy in Tulsa. They all died. We don’t play that around here,” Vermillion wrote in part. “This isn’t St. Louis, block a road here [and] you get ran over. Loot and riot [and] you will join the fella you all are protesting for down at the local graveyard.”
Vermillion made the racist post on a KOTV article about a small group of protestors gathering outside the Tulsa County courthouse Monday. They met in response to an officer shooting and killing Terence Crutcher Friday night.
A police spokesperson initially said Crutcher did not raise his hands as requested. However, yesterday, the department released dashcam footage contradicting that statement.
Later on, Facebook removed Vermillion’s comment. He blamed Lark for it, but she stated it was not her doing.
“I just shared that load of crap that came out of your worthless mouth,” she wrote.
Many users commented in disbelief over Vermillion’s initial post.
Cheryl Perkins Lark said Vermillion “needs to get his facts straight” and gave him an education on the Tulsa race riots that destroyed Black Wall Street.
Richard Lawrence explained the comment elicits “all sorts of emotions in me.” He added, “I’m tired of apologizing. I’m tired of being ashamed.”
Vermillion’s racist response left Tiffanie Gaddis Davis “speechless.”
While Shay-Aaron Dean McIntyre maintained a more distrustful stance.
Facebook user Herlonda Hamilton said she wanted the post to “spread like wildfire.”
“I want his friends, family, co-workers, bosses and neighbor to know how vile he is,” she wrote.
Initially, users thought Vermillion was a current or former employee of TransAm Trucking. The belief was based on an image on his Facebook page boasting about driving an 18-wheeler.
But the company revealed on Twitter they are not associated with him “in any way.”
@thefcomments This individual is not an employee of TransAm and is not affiliated with our company in any way.
— TransAm Trucking (@TransAmTruck) September 20, 2016
Vermillion’s page is currently inaccessible.
