Hundreds of cops are in extremist Facebook groups. Why haven't their departments done anything about

[TexasTowelie]

Hundreds of cops are in extremist Facebook groups. Why haven’t their departments done anything about it?


Prison guard Geoffery Crosby was a member of more than 50 extremist groups on Facebook, including scores of racist groups dedicated to the Confederacy. Missouri Sheriff’s Deputy Richard Crites was – and still is – posting anti-Muslim rants on his personal Facebook page. In Georgia, despite warnings from his chief, Abbeville police Officer Joel Quinn continues to post a steady stream of conspiracy theories and right-wing memes on Facebook, including recently sharing an anti-Semitic meme.

In June, Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting identified hundreds of police officers across the country who were members of closed racist, Islamophobic, misogynistic or anti-government militia groups on Facebook. We sought reaction from more than 150 law enforcement departments about their officers’ involvement in these extremist groups. Yet only one department – the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, which fired a detective for racist posts – has publicly taken any significant action.

More than 50 departments promised investigations, but few have taken any other steps. The Portland Police Bureau said “no jurisdiction existed” for it to take any action against an officer whose Islamophobic comments were posted before he joined the agency. The New York Police Department said it couldn’t substantiate reporting showing one of its officers had posted misogynistic comments, even though we obtained screenshots.

Social media activity isn’t just a public-facing display of officers’ beliefs and biases. Officers are susceptible to being radicalized online just like so many civilians, said Christy Lopez, a Georgetown Law professor who oversaw the Department of Justice’s civil rights investigation into the Ferguson Police Department.

Read more: https://www.revealnews.org/article/hundreds-of-cops-are-in-extremist-facebook-groups-why-havent-their-departments-done-anything-about-it/

[BumRushDaShow]

1. The Philadelphia Police Department responded to the research done by the Plain View Project

... and started disciplining cops back in July. And the investigation has continued...

2 more Philly cops to be fired in Facebook probe, bringing total to 15

by Chris Palmer, Updated: September 11, 2019


Acting Philadelphia Police Commissioner Christine M. Coulter said Tuesday that 15 police officers had been suspended with intent to dismiss for making racist or offensive Facebook posts — two more than the Police Department had announced in July when officials revealed the first wave of discipline over a scandal that attracted national attention.

Speaking to City Council members during a hearing on the matter, Coulter also said that Internal Affairs had investigated 343 officers for their social media activity, more than the 328 active cops whose posts were cataloged on the Plain View Project database, published in June by advocates studying police bias. Coulter said that “additional violators” had been discovered during the department’s investigation of the posts in the database.

The acting commissioner did not identify any of the officers who were suspended with intent to dismiss, but said in her prepared remarks that 11 of the 15 facing termination had resigned before they could be fired. Some Council members complained that those cops would be able to walk away and retain their pensions; Coulter said the benefit of resignations is that those officers cannot challenge their departures through arbitration.

Here are some highlights about the Police Department’s disciplinary actions regarding the Facebook scandal, as presented in Coulter’s prepared remarks:

Number of officers investigated: 343

Number of officers found to have violated department policy: 193, including:

15 officers suspended with intent to dismiss. 11 resigned before being fired.

7 suspended for 30 days.

148 faced “command level discipline," in which the most serious penalty is a five-day suspension.

3 ordered to undergo training and counseling only.

11 await a ruling on discipline.

Number of officers who did not violate department policy: 100

Number of cases deemed "unfounded”: 23

Number of cases pending: 27

https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia-police-facebook-scandal-15-cops-fired-christine-coulter-20190911.html

Plain View Project

[JonLP24]

7. See looks like cops can do something about the problem

[Hermit-The-Prog]

12. good on Philly!

Others should take notes.

[BumRushDaShow]

15. Except for the issue of the acting Commissioner

...who proudly wore a racist LAPD T-shirt that mocked the Rodney King beating.



The mayor is under fire for her (Christine Coulter) selection as an acting Commissioner but then I expect it is understood that there is a regular search going on to replace the previous Commissioner (Richard Ross) who resigned in August and her appointment isn't permanent.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

20. ugh. bad apples everywhere you look

[beachbumbob]

2. Because many depts don't care and have inherent levels of racism

Until we have our elected officials over police depts take actions.

[RobinA]

3. I Think There's

this thing called the 1st Amendment. These people's employer is government.

[JonLP24]

5. It looks like an Alaska police Lt knows what to do

From the article.

At the Ketchikan Police Department in Alaska, Lt. Andrew Berntson said he sits down with new recruits and discusses how to use social media positively to engage with the community instead of isolating yourself from it. Berntson said agencies need to investigate applicants before hiring them. Departments should scour the social media postings of potential recruits, he said, looking for warning signs that applicants have racist or other discriminatory views.

“You have to get a good view of who this person is, because that’s most likely what they’re going to continue to be,” Berntson said. “If they have predisposed opinions, you need to flush that out in the hiring process.”

Social media searches are just part of the backgrounding process, Berntson said. Departments should also reach out to friends, relatives and former employers to gauge a candidate’s suitability, he said. Small town departments should ask around about a future recruit’s associations and connections, to establish whether they have ever been involved with extremist groups, Berntson said. And in big cities, departments should check with the detectives who investigate extremist groups, to see if a potential recruit has ever been involved with any of the groups on the department’s radar.

Police departments could also duplicate efforts like Reveal’s – researching and joining local chapters of extremist groups on Facebook and other social media sites to monitor them and check for current or potential officers, Berntson said.

------my text below

It looks like he is doing something instead of relying on the first amendment as to why they can't do anything. You cant join the Army if you are a member of an extremist group. Not allowed to have Nazi flags in your barracks room regardless of what the first amendment says.

[RobinA]

8. What That Guy

is doing is probably OK. I have no problem keeping nuts off the police force and if you can do it legally that's great. I just don't like the idea of government sanctioning people for speech or association. Today the other guy, tomorrow me.

[JonLP24]

9. Police have such a power

If there is a discriminatory cop on the force they can do a lot of damage. Besides racism isn't based on logic so we aren't losing any critical thinkers here.

I remember the military had strict rules on this type of thing and they are government.

[DFW]

10. Exactly

It's one thing if it's a guy in a desk job at the Department of Transportation.

It's quite another to give a guy who hangs around in internet hate groups a badge, the power to arrest and a gun to kill people whom he deems to deserve it.

In today's Germany, where I currently live, free speech is the law of the land, BUT Nazi propaganda and its symbols are nevertheless forbidden. It seems their country has a had bad experiences with giving people with such sentiments free rein to promote them or carry firearms. I only wish our own country would pay more attention to that.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

13. Yeah but

Their position requires direct authority over the public. I think that we should have people in direct positions of authority whom are NOT racist or sympathize with Nazis. Such associations surely have an impact on how they conduct their business, interact with minorities, POC, et. al

[Crunchy Frog]

17. It's not "sanctioning", it's about maintaining certain standards in policing.

Racism, bigotry, and extremism are incompatible with good policing. Extensive background checks should be the norm for such a sensitive position.

Innocent people are getting killed because of failure to maintain standards.

You don't give a gun and a license to kill to a proven racist.

[bullwinkle428]

16. The government is not stopping any of these guys from going down

to any street corner and spewing whatever crap they may feel like sharing with the world, nor should it. This is about something else entirely, with the points well-made by others in this thread.

[Generic Other]

4. After we get rid of Trump we need to go after this sort of crap

Ordinary citizens sending these to Police department Internal Affairs, state legislators, local newspapers, etc. These people do not have the same protection as the thug-in-chief. They are subject to actual rules that can be enforced.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

6. Because racism is institutional and our police system is built upon white supremacy.

[abqtommy]

11. Meanwhile Facebook, Twitter et al roll merrily along.

The "social media" show no signs of assuming any responsibility. Let's take the fight to them too.

[maxrandb]

14. Exactly! While I agree that we need to question why these fucksticks are still in law enforcement

We should also vehemently question why these groups still exist on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

[abqtommy]

19. My sentiment exactly too!

[fescuerescue]

18. Because Police, Police themselves

And the same % of cops that belong to hate groups, are the same % that police the rest.