*Kalyn Chapman James, the former Miss Alabama who made a video lamenting the fact that she felt Dallas sniper Michael Xavier Johnson was a “martyr,” has been placed on administrative leave from her job at South Florida PBS station WPBT2.
“I’m dealing with a bit of guilt, because I don’t feel sad for the officers that lost their lives — and I know that that’s really not my heart,” James said in a video made Sunday via Facebook Live, referencing the five Dallas police officers shot and killed by Johnson at a demonstration against police brutality.
“I value human life and I want to feel sad for them, but I can’t help but feeling like the shooter was a martyr — and I know it’s not the right way to feel because nobody deserves to lose their lives, and I know that those police officers had families and people who loved them,” she said.
“I’m so torn up in my heart about seeing these … black men being gunned down in my community that I can’t help but feel like I wasn’t surprised what the shooter did to those cops,” she added. “And I think a lot of us feel the same way.”
Below is WPBT2’s official statement, in which they do not mention James by name:
WPBT2’s statement regarding comments made by one of its contractors surrounding the tragic events in Dallas. pic.twitter.com/WCDvVq0eOi
— WPBT2 (@WPBT2) July 11, 2016
Below, one of James’ reports for WPBT:
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