Mayor removes post critical of Copeland’s alleged statement on Ellis murder

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015, 2:30 p.m. — Bardstown Mayor John Royalty removed a Facebook post Friday from his personal social media page that included an allegation that Kecia Copeland made an insensitive statement regarding the 2013 murder of Bardstown Police Officer Jason Ellis at her workplace months before she was a candidate for the Bardstown City Council.

The lengthy account of Copeland’s alleged Ellis murder statement had been posted originally months earlier on a Facebook page called “Nelson Precinct,” a political-oriented Facebook page maintained by James Beery. The account regarding Copeland did not mention her by name, but referred to her indirectly as the “female candidate” for Bardstown City Council.

Royalty said he removed the post Friday after he reconsidered its hurtful impact on other people’s feelings.

MAYOR JOHN ROYALTY

“Was it stupid? It may not have been the brightest thing to do,” he admitted. “I have learned that I have to separate my personal thoughts from those of the Mayor’s office. Being new in this office, there’s something of a learning curve about what to do and what not to do.”

Royalty said his personal Facebook page was his page for stating his own opinions, and statements he made there weren’t intended to represent his thoughts in his capacity as mayor. But that separation isn’t always an automatic one for followers of his Facebook, he said. Prior to Friday, he had posted information and photos of snow removal efforts and other city business on his personal page.

Royalty said he will refrain from posting personal opinions on his Facebook page to avoid confusion and misunderstandings in the future. “It’s not fair and its just not productive,” he said. “The city doesn’t need the distractions.”

Social media users who followed Royalty’s Facebook page may have initially believed Royalty was the author of the post regarding Copeland’s alleged statement on the Ellis murder. In responses to comments to the post, Royalty noted that he was not the original author and added it was a post written and posted elsewhere by the Nelson Precinct Facebook account.

Royalty said the story about Copeland caught his attention because it came from someone who claimed to be have heard her make the statement. “It didn’t come from Bardstown Topix or an anonymous source,” he said. “Other people were telling me about it as well.”

Royalty said he spoke with Copeland Friday and they talked about a number of issues, including the split in opinion within the council regarding the discussion of what constitutes city business. That discussion had its beginnings in the wake of citizen complaints stemming from Royalty failing to attend the community’s Martin Luther King Jr. celebration on Jan. 18.

His failure to attend the event has created divisive barriers both in the community and within the city council chambers, Royalty said. It’s a division he wants to heal, adding that it is a distraction from the work he and council need to continue.

“As I said during my campaign, I want my administration to be open and transparent,” he said Friday afternoon. “I want to tear down the barriers and work together with the entire council,” he said. “We have to get through this so we can focus on taking care of the people’s business.”

-30-