Colorado police officer fired over social media posts; FBI notified

A police officer in the Colorado town of Erie has been fired after social media posts she allegedly made, and now the FBI is involved due to the nature of those posts, the bureau confirms.

Erie police and the FBI gave few details about the posts or the termination and the Erie Police Department has not even released the name of the officer, but the Colorado Office of the Attorney General said on Tuesday that Erie PD filed a notice of separation saying Haili Shimko was "terminated for cause."

The department on Tuesday said that the investigation involved "a concern involving a sworn employee's comment on their social media profile." The department said in its Tuesday statement that it launched an internal investigation and then notified the FBI "due to the nature of the comment," and found "multiple violations of department directives." The statement went on, saying, "The officer is no longer employed with the Erie Police Department."

Voicemails were left for phone numbers listed in public records as belonging to Shimko.

"Erie Police Department has communicated with the FBI, as is common practice in situations where a federal nexus might exist," a bureau spokesperson told CBS News Colorado. The FBI referred additional questions to Erie police.

CBS Colorado requested more information from Erie PD.

Screenshots of a Facebook comment where Shimko allegedly wrote, "they wear armor so headshots would work better," were posted on various social media sites. The right-wing account "Libs of TikTok" posted screenshots on X and alleged that the comment was referencing "the m*rder of ICE agents." Erie PD commented on that X post, confirming that the department launched an internal investigation. CBS Colorado reviewed these posts but has not been able to independently confirm the authenticity of the screenshot or the comment.

Erie is a town of about 30,000 residents, about 30 miles north of Denver.