MSP sergeant under fire for personal views

Feb. 5—A longtime member of the Michigan State Police and a 33-year Army veteran who was deployed numerous times during conflict is under fire for publicly stating his personal views on a series of topics.

Sgt. Rod Goss, who has been working in law enforcement in Monroe County for more than 20 years, is under an apparent internal investigation after a Letter to the Editor he wrote appeared in The Monroe News Tuesday.

Goss, 52, has written many letters over the years expressing his conservative views. He wrote them as a private citizen and, when doing so, did not identify himself as a member of the Michigan State Police.

In his letter printed Tuesday, he covered several controversial issues and, as he has in the past, expressed his views no matter how unpopular they may be with those with opposing views.

"Stop with the white privilege nonsense," he said in the letter.

"Stop talking about toxic masculinity; it's not a problem. The real problem is toxic femininity, which is rampant among white liberal males. Stop attacking the nation's history because it hurts your fragile feelings... Stop playing the victim. Take the BLM movement for example. Stop committing crime, stop resisting arrest..." A Detroit television station reported on the letter and Goss' personal views. That prompted the state police to release a statement.

First Lt. Mike Shaw said the following in a tweet: 'We fully recognize that our members, as individuals, have constitutionally guaranteed rights to free speech, no different than any other American," he said.

"While his speech may be constitutionally protected, we are disappointed by the divisive nature and tone of Goss' letter to the editor and do not find it in keeping with the high standards of professional decorum expected of members of the Michigan State Police.'

On Thursday, a member of the MSP contacted The Monroe News on a fact- finding mission, indicating an internal investigation has begun.

Reached by The Monroe News, Goss declined to make a comment.

Goss is a U. S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 and was trained as a Green Beret in the Special Forces Unit.

During his more than three decades with the Army, he saw combat had been deployed at least a dozen times to 46 different countries.

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