Cops Around the Country Are Posting Racist and Violent Comments on Facebook

SummerMadness · Jun 2, 2019

Cops Around the Country Are Posting Racist and Violent Comments on Facebook

Police officers saying bigoted and racist things online has been an issue since the beginning of social media. The behavior was especially scrutinized after the Black Lives Matter movement blasted into the national conversation — and that scrutiny has continued ever after that movement began grappling with its future. What was never really captured was the scope of problematic online posts from police officers.

But a new review of police behavior on Facebook documents the systemic nature of the conduct across several departments. The Plain View Project, launched by Philadelphia lawyer Emily Baker-White, examined the accounts of about 2,900 officers from eight departments across the country and an additional 600 retired officers from those same departments. She compiled posts that represented troubling conduct in a database that is replete with racist imagery and memes, and in some cases long, vitriolic exchanges involving multiple officers.

The project sought to compile posts, comments, and other public activity that could undermine public trust in the police and reinforce the views of critics, especially in minority communities, that the police are not there to protect them.

Richard T · Jun 3, 2019

SummerMadness said:
Cops Around the Country Are Posting Racist and Violent Comments on Facebook

It depends on what the flag represents to them. I am not apologists for racists, but if it is about reducing a strong central government, the anti-federalists have been around since the beginning of U.S. history.

Go Braves · Jun 3, 2019

Well that's not only shameful but stupid as all get out to post it on Facebook.

Ana the Ist · Jun 3, 2019

SummerMadness said:
Cops Around the Country Are Posting Racist and Violent Comments on Facebook

"The project sought to compile posts, comments, and other public activity that could undermine public trust in the police and reinforce the views of critics, especially in minority communities, that the police are not there to protect them."

Well at least they had good intentions.....who wouldn't want to undermine public trust in the police?

I'm curious about what they consider "racist" and honestly....less than 3000 officers out of 500,000 total really puts this in perspective. It's less than 1%.

iluvatar5150 · Jun 3, 2019

Ana the Ist said:
"The project sought to compile posts, comments, and other public activity that could undermine public trust in the police and reinforce the views of critics, especially in minority communities, that the police are not there to protect them."

Well at least they had good intentions.....who wouldn't want to undermine public trust in the police?

I'm curious about what they consider "racist" and honestly....less than 3000 officers out of 500,000 total really puts this in perspective. It's less than 1%.

That’s 3000 out of the 8 cities they examined. I don’t know if their methodology is sound but the rate they came up with was 1 in 5 among those whom they were able to identify.

Sistrin · Jun 3, 2019

An example of those whom the American left champions. From the article, quote:

"...he wrote separately about a group of teens who were accused of killing a 6-year-old."

Yeah, we wouldn't want to hurt the feelings of a group of people who kidnapped and then murdered a six year old child, and of course anyone who does is the true villain.

SummerMadness · Jun 3, 2019

iluvatar5150 said:
That’s 3000 out of the 8 cities they examined. I don’t know if their methodology is sound but they rate they came up with was 1 in 5 among those whom they were able to identify.

Most priests don't abuse nuns or altar boys, so we shouldn't worry about sexual abuse in the church, nor should there be any concern raised for police racism and misconduct. Likewise, most people do not commit crimes, so why do we even have police? How can we call them high crime areas if most of the people living there don't commit crimes? These are the deep questions that must be answered.

iluvatar5150 · Jun 3, 2019

Sistrin said:
An example of those whom the American left champions. From the article, quote:

"...he wrote separately about a group of teens who were accused of killing a 6-year-old."

Yeah, we wouldn't want to hurt the feelings of a group of people who kidnapped and then murdered a six year old child, and of course anyone who does is the true villain.

One would hope that an officer's public statement about a crime would be in support of due process and the law.

Sistrin · Jun 3, 2019

iluvatar5150 said:
One would hope that an officer's public statement about a crime would be in support of due process and the law.

Actually one would hope those who kidnapped and then murdered a six year old child would not become instant darlings of the American left, but sadly that is not the case.

Sistrin · Jun 3, 2019

SummerMadness said:
...nor should there be any concern raised for police racism and misconduct.

Neither you nor those who crafted this partisan study are attempting to voice concern over perceived racism within law enforcement. You are attempting to transform simple disgust over heinous crimes committed into institutionalized racism in an effort to broad-brush law enforcement. It is an old song and dance, and if you actually read the article cited you will di$cover the true rea$on why.

iluvatar5150 · Jun 3, 2019

Sistrin said:
Actually one would hope those who kidnapped and then murdered a six year old child would not become instant darlings of the American left, but sadly that is not the case.

That they are "instant darlings of the left" is a lie.

Sistrin · Jun 3, 2019

iluvatar5150 said:
That they are "instant darlings of the left" is a lie.

No, it is not. Their case was specifically cited in the OP article as an example of police racism, or insensitivity, or some such nonsense, a group of teens who kidnapped and then murdered a six year old child. Why would anyone care about the perpetrators feelings in regard to reaction expressed to the crime?

Or more importantly, who would care about the perpetrators feelings in regard to reaction expressed to the crime?

The answer to that question is painfully obvious.

RDKirk · Jun 3, 2019

Ana the Ist said:
"The project sought to compile posts, comments, and other public activity that could undermine public trust in the police and reinforce the views of critics, especially in minority communities, that the police are not there to protect them."

Well at least they had good intentions.....who wouldn't want to undermine public trust in the police?

I'm curious about what they consider "racist" and honestly....less than 3000 officers out of 500,000 total really puts this in perspective. It's less than 1%.

Except that the rest cover for the 1%

iluvatar5150 · Jun 3, 2019

Sistrin said:
No, it is not. Their case was specifically cited in the OP article as an example of police racism, or insensitivity, or some such nonsense, a group of teens who kidnapped and then murdered a six year old child. Why would anyone care about the perpetrators feelings in regard to reaction expressed to the crime?

Or more importantly, who would care about the perpetrators feelings in regard to reaction expressed to the crime?

The answer to that question is painfully obvious.

What's not painfully obvious is where anybody in either that article or in this thread (or anywhere else for that matter) has expressed concern for the perpetrators' feelings. The article is about police officers saying or posting inappropriate things and what that officer said was inappropriate. Any displays of sensitivity towards the perpetrators of that crime exist only in your imagination.

jardiniere · Jun 3, 2019

Sistrin said:
No, it is not. Their case was specifically cited in the OP article as an example of police racism, or insensitivity, or some such nonsense, a group of teens who kidnapped and then murdered a six year old child. Why would anyone care about the perpetrators feelings in regard to reaction expressed to the crime?

Or more importantly, who would care about the perpetrators feelings in regard to reaction expressed to the crime?

The answer to that question is painfully obvious.

Yes, certainly not any true Christians. Right?

Sistrin · Jun 3, 2019

iluvatar5150 said:
Any displays of sensitivity towards the perpetrators of that crime exist only in your imagination.

The fact the case was cited in the article in regard to police reaction by default illustrates sympathy for the perpetrators.

SummerMadness · Jun 3, 2019

I never thought I would see someone defend police officers scoffing at due process. So odd.

iluvatar5150 · Jun 3, 2019

Sistrin said:
The fact the case was cited in the article in regard to police reaction by default illustrates sympathy for the perpetrators.

No, it doesn't. Pointing out bad behavior by police doesn't mean you sympathize with criminals.

Amendments 4-8 deal with the government's relationship with and treatment of accused criminals and others interacting with the legal system. By your logic, any complaint alleging that the government violated those rights would constitute sympathizing with criminals. Is that really the position you want to take?

Ana the Ist · Jun 3, 2019

iluvatar5150 said:
That’s 3000 out of the 8 cities they examined. I don’t know if their methodology is sound but the rate they came up with was 1 in 5 among those whom they were able to identify.

Sorry...my mistake...

After reading, this part is telling....

"made public posts or comments that met that threshold — typically by displaying bias, applauding violence, scoffing at due process, or using dehumanizing language."

That's a rather low threshold. Displaying bias? Seriously lol? Applauding violence?

This is incredibly thin.

Edit-We're also talking about a span of 4 years

iluvatar5150 · Jun 3, 2019

Ana the Ist said:
Sorry...my mistake...

After reading, this part is telling....

"made public posts or comments that met that threshold — typically by displaying bias, applauding violence, scoffing at due process, or using dehumanizing language."

That's a rather low threshold. Displaying bias? Seriously lol? Applauding violence?

This is incredibly thin.

Edit-We're also talking about a span of 4 years

FWIW, the more I think about this, the more I doubt the methodology of this study and suspect that their sample isn't representative of the whole. If I understood the article correctly, they were limited in their analysis to accounts with posts that were visible to the public. That's opens up the door to some pretty serious selection bias since, IME, folks who leave their posts public are WAY more likely to be posting stuff that's inflammatory (and, also, IMO just outright stupid) than people who lock down their privacy settings. That goes for both ends of the political spectrum. So, I have a hunch that they may have wound up analyzing the dumbest of the dumb and the worst of the worst.

So, while I wouldn't be surprised if there were some merit to their conclusions, I wouldn't jump on this as confirmation of high rates of problematic behavior.

Cops Around the Country Are Posting Racist and Violent Comments on Facebook

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