The Philadelphia Police Department will reportedly fire officers who posted offensive and racist posts on Facebook.
Due to the widescale attention this scandal has received, the firing of these cops would be a huge step for the department, which could set the stage for similar measures across the nation. Other cities dealing with similar social media scandals include: Phoenix, Dallas, Twin Falls, Idaho, Lake County, Florida, St. Louis, Denison, Texas, and York, Pennsylvania.
Inquirier.com first reported the news and their sources told them it was “pending matter” and that 13 officers are expected to be suspended with the intention to be dismissed. This dismissal is said to begin Friday.
Last month, over 70 officers were taken off the street due to this Facebook probe. Metro reported that 10 officers will be put on desk duty as a result of this probe. It’s not clear if the 13 officers rumored to be suspended are within the 70 taken off the street.
The database, called The Plain View Project, released this information on June 1 and is the probe is still being investigated by the Philadelphia department’s Internal Affairs officer as well as the law firm, Ballard Spahr, Inquirer.com claims.
The database included over 500 current and retired officers, and 328 officers who are currently serving.
Philly Police Commissioner Richard Ross has made it clear that he is going to make changes in the future, so things like this don’t happen again. He recently noted that all officers will be required to go through social media policy training as well as antibias training.
It is being reported that officials, do not know how long the investigation will go on, but it was reported that each post will be investigated to see if it falls under “freedom of speech” or if it violates the social media policy.
