Cop fired for joining Vital Remains on stage during show

Police officer Andrew Ricks ended his career in Sanford by taking the stage last week and singing "Let the Killing Begin" in full uniform while backed up by Vital Remains, a death metal band. Ricks already had notified the city of his intention to resign effective Friday, but Police Chief Cecil B. Smith relieved him of his duties Wednesday morning, records show. "An incident of this nature erodes the thin fibers of trust which already exist between the community and the police and it will not tolerated within the Sanford Police Department," Smith said in a statement released Thursday. Ricks was on duty when he sang at the West End Trading Co., a venue on the shore of Lake Monroe in Sanford, according to police. Someone in the audience sent a video of Ricks' performance to the police department late Tuesday.