In our view, people who are subject to decisions made by law enforcement may fairly question whether these online statements about race, religion, ethnicity and the acceptability of violent policingâamong other topicsâinform officersâ on-the-job behaviors and choices.To be clear, our concern is not whether these posts and comments are protected by the First Amendment.
Emily Baker-White, the project’s founder, said she had been contacted by internal affairs investigators in several cities, and that an overdue conversation had started about police culture and what she called a “feedback loop of violence and machismo and discriminatory attitudes.”In Philadelphia, Commissioner Ross said 72 officers had been assigned administrative duties while facing investigation for their social media posts, the largest single removal of officers from street duty that he could recall in his roughly 30-year career. He said some of the officers were likely to be fired, and many could be disciplined.Commissioner Ross said the vast majority of Philadelphia officers performed admirably and would never engage in hateful speech.
“When a police officer’s integrity is compromised in this manner, it compromises the entire criminal justice system and our overall ability to pursue justice.”Three of those St. Louis officers had already been placed on desk duty by their department, and all 22 had been placed under internal investigation.Jimmie Edwards, the St. Louis public safety director, said in an interview that he was “not prepared to say we have a cultural problem of being racist and homophobic,” but that he was upset by the posts, and that action would be taken against officers who broke the rules.“I was embarrassed to read those posts,” Mr. Edwards said.
“We are not naïve to that fact, nor are we dismissive of it.”The public posts, compiled from accounts believed to belong to current or former officers in eight departments, included racist, misogynist and Islamophobic memes and comments, as well as celebrations of officers who use excessive force, including messages like “It’s a good day for a chokehold.” The compilation was released this month by the The posts drew new attention to long-simmering concerns about prejudice and aggressiveness in American police departments, but they also raised questions about free speech, and about how much latitude chiefs have to penalize legal, if offensive, views shared by their employees while off duty.“It’s premature and irresponsible for the commissioner to tell the public that police officers will be fired without a complete investigation into officers’ social media use,” said a statement by John McNesby, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police unit that represents Philadelphia officers. The city has hired a law firm to help determine which posts were acceptable speech and which were not, he said. So it’s something that we have to fix.”Heather Taylor, a St. Louis police sergeant who is president of the Ethical Society of Police, which mainly represents black officers, said the posts were saddening but not surprising. Sergeant Taylor said she saw them as more evidence of deep cultural shortcomings — in her department especially, and in American law enforcement generally.“We weren’t shocked — this is something we’ve known forever,” Sergeant Taylor said.She said the posts by her colleagues could further erode public trust in a department that has Jeff Roorda, the business manager of the St. Louis Police Officers Association, the city’s largest police union, said many of the accused officers could mount a free-speech defense in any disciplinary proceedings. Philly Police Capt. In Philadelphia, which has roughly 6,600 officers, the Plain View Project identified 1,073 on Facebook, about a third of whom had made troubling posts or comments. Adam Friedman allegedly shared this Facebook post, flagged by the Plain View Project. A database published Saturday by the Plain View Project cited more than 1,100 questionable Facebook posts or comments by current or former Philadelphia police officers, including 330 still on the force. Rather, we believe that because fairness, equal treatment, and integrity are essential to the legitimacy of policing, these posts and comments should be part of a national dialogue about police.