Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 'needs a round': Shocking Facebook post by US police officer

A US police officer has sparked outrage after a post appeared on his Facebook page suggesting Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez should be shot.

The comments were made last Thursday on the personal account of Charlie Rispoli of the Gretna Police Department, Louisiana, reports Nola.com, which covers New Orleans.

"This vile idiot needs a round and I don't mean the kind she used to serve," reads the post, referring to the congresswoman's one-time student job in a bar in New York City.

The comments were shared alongside a fake news story from the satirical website Taters Gonna Tate.

The post was removed on Friday and Mr Rispoli's account appeared to have been suspended or deleted over the weekend, according to the news site.

Gretna Police Chief Arthur Lawson told Nola.com the post was "disturbing" and likely broke the force's social media policy, but probably did not constitute a threat.

He said: “I will tell you this: This will not go unchecked ... I’m not going to take this lightly and this will be dealt with on our end.

"It’s not something we want someone that’s affiliated with our department to make these types of statements."

The Gretna Police Department did not immediately respond to the Standard's request for comment.

Meanwhile its Facebook page was inundated with angry posts from members of the public. "Disgusting. Fire him," wrote one person.

"This is a police officer. Civilians have been fired and detained for lesser offenses [sic]," wrote another.

US president Donald Trump drew widespread criticism last week when he told four high-profile Democratic congresswomen including AOC to “go back where they came” in a Twitter tirade.

Mr Trump told the “progressives” to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came” – despite the fact the group, known as "the squad", are American citizens.

The four includes Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib. Only Ms Omar, from Somalia, was born abroad.

The US House of Representatives voted last week by 240 to 187 to condemn Trump's "go home" comments as racist.