Sergeant Ramon Mifsud has been suspended from work after comments he passed on Facebook following the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
He will also be investigated by the Public Service Commission.
A spokesman for the OPM said the comments were "reprehensible and do not befit any citizen, let alone an officer whose role is to protect all Maltese citizens".
Earlier, the police commissioner, Lawrence Cutajar, had told The Malta Independent that the Police Internal Affairs Unit today launched an investigation on a comment posted on Facebook by the police sergeant.
Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar told The Malta Independent that the case is before the unit.
Yesterday, following the brutal murder of Caruana Galizia, sergeant Ramon Mifsud uploaded a Facebook status stating the following; “Had wara had tasal ta kulhadd demel!!!!!!Feeling happy J” (Everyone gets what they deserve)
Sergeant Ramon Mifsud
This brought outright condemnation and people expressed anger on social media, calling upon the minister responsible and the police chief to take action against the sergeant.
Contacted by The Malta Independent, the Police Commissioner said that an internal investigation has been launched on the case and he will wait for the result. Asked if there was a deadline given for when the investigation should end, Cutajar was non committal.
When pressed on what his views are on this comment that happened under his watch, Cutajar said, “No one is happy with such behaviour and I immediately told the internal unit to start an investigation.”
In a statement earlier today, the police said that they had not received any reports of threats by Daphne Caruana Galizia or someone in her name in the past two weeks, as reported by sections of the media. It is understood that the journalist had several times reported threats to the police, but not in the last two weeks before her murder.
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An online petition by activist group 'Il-Kenniesa tal-Kabinett' is going around on Facebook with the title 'Get Ramon Mifsud off the police force and out of Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder case.' The petition has already collected over 1000 signatures in just over an hour. "There is no place for people like this in the world, let alone, a place and responsibility to be protecting the Maltese people," the petition reads.
"The impartiality and independence of the police force is the crux of an independent democratic state. According to the rule of law, the police force is to be independent from any other institutions so as to ensure highest form of impartiality and protection of the people."We have witnessed corruption in many forms, but now it is time to make our voices heard. We demand that Ramon Mifsud is removed from the investigation and consequently the police force so as to ensure a just and independent investigation of case can hope to be conducted."
The petition is addressed to Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar and Home Affairs and Security Minister Michael Farrugia.