Supporters of Sergeant Sean Murphy, the state trooper facing dismissal for leaking photos of alleged Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, have created a "Save Sgt. Sean Murphy" Facebook page.
According to the New York Post, the site is "catching on like wildfire," with the page nearing its 40,000th visit within less than a day of going live.
The creator of the page is a Massachusetts woman who claims to have ties to law enforcement, but does not know Murphy personally. She asked the Post to use only her first name, Lisa.
"I just said to myself, 'You know, somebody has to stand up for him,'" said Lisa. "It just hit me very hard that this poor guy, Sgt. Murphy, is getting reprimanded and could lose his job."
Murphy, a state police photographer, released behind-the-scenes photos showing the manhunt and capture of Tsarnaev to Boston Magazine in response to the controversial Rolling Stone cover of the alleged bomber. Murphy was unauthorized to release the photos and could face termination.
However, many people, including those in law enforcement, are supporting Murphy's actions and don't believe he should be punished.
"I'm getting support from England, from retired law enforcement, and confidentially from the State Police," said Lisa. "I'm getting a lot of state police who are telling me, 'We're not saying he shouldn't be reprimanded, but he shouldn't lose his job.'"
"I'm getting people wanting to support his family or give him a job if he is fired, people offering free legal counsel," she said, but added that the page is not currently accepting donations.
"It's worth the fight to me," she said. "At least I can sleep at night knowing I tried."
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