Rocky Mount fires two officers who entered US Capitol on day of riots

The Rocky Mount Police Department made it official today, terminating two officers who entered the U.S. Capitol on January 6. The town says Jacob Fracker and Thomas Robertson did not meet departmental standards and have harmed Rocky Mount’s image. The officers say they did not participate in the riots, but they face federal disruptive activity charges.

NEWS RELEASE: Rocky Mount, VA. (January 26, 2021) – The Rocky Mount Police Department has terminated employment for officers Jacob Fracker and Thomas Robertson effective Tuesday, January 26. The Town has followed the necessary due processes to conclude our review and notify these individuals of this decision. We will continue to assist in the federal investigation as called upon. It is not our policy to publicly discuss the details of personnel matters; however, the very public nature of this situation does warrant brief comment:

1. We hear those who have communicated their anger and frustration about the actions of these individuals or our response to those actions. There is no playbook for dealing with what occurred on January 6. We have treated the process of review seriously from the beginning and thank those who contributed and in coordinating a response in a quick, objective and lawful manner.

2. We want to reinforce our commitment to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our citizens and business, and to upholding the law. Our officers are held to high standards for how they conduct themselves on and off-duty and we are proud of the dedication and sacrifice made to keeping our community safe. The process we have gone through reinforces how seriously we aim to uphold these standards and how important it is to communicate that the department works in the best interest of everyone’s safety.

The events of the past few weeks have been challenging for our town, as they have been for the entire nation. The actions by two have driven our beautiful town into the national spotlight in ways that do not reflect our whole community and the people who call Rocky Mount home. Our town is a patchwork of people rooted to and connected by their love for this area and that is where we want to focus moving forward.