Massachusetts police officer under investigation after defending Charlottesville white supremacist rally

A Springfield, Massachusetts police officer is under investigation after he commented, "Hahahaha, love this," in response to a story posted to Facebook about the death of a 32-year-old woman mowed down by a car that plowed into a group of people protesting an alt-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The local Springfield chapter of the NAACP has signed on to the police investigation, calling for full transparency so the community can assess whether the officer is fit to serve.

"The fitness to serve in the capacity of a police officer by anyone who gives public voice to such blatant insensitivity should be immediately evaluated," Bishop Talbert W. Swan II, president of the local NAACP chapter, said in the statement to MassLive. "If the allegations regarding Officer Lariviere are valid, he has demonstrated a serious lapse in judgment, something that could mean the difference between life and death in the line of duty."

Springfield Police Commissioner John Barbieri said the department has launched an investigation into officer Conrad Lariviere, who allegedly made the comments.

According to the MassLive report, which includes a screenshot of the now deleted Facebook comments, Lariviere also questioned whether the driver of the car that struck the crowd was a "nazi scumbag."

In response to someone on Facebook who questioned whether Lariviere had ever been struck by a car, he replied, "I've been hit by ash*tbag with warrants, but who cares right you ignorant brat live in a fantasy land with the rest of America while I deal With the real danger."

Lariviere told Masslive.com he is not a racist.

"Never would I want someone to get murdered," he said to Masslive.com. "I am not a racist and don't believe in what any of those protesters are doing."