Personal use of various Internet services creates challenges for those responsible for the security forces, which began establishing a series of policies and rules for use of sites like Facebook .
Trey agent Economidy Albuquerque police now warns that it should have known better when he wrote on Facebook that his occupation is "get rid of human waste."
After being involved in a fatal shooting while in office in February, a local television station found his Facebook page. Economidy was assigned to administrative duties while the Albuquerque Police Department announced last month a new policy to guide the use of social networking sites by agents.
social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter can be valuable resources for the institutions responsible for enforcing the law, and that help to alert the public, to seek information about crimes and obtain evidence about the background of suspects. However, the Internet can also put the police department problems. Certain
slips as cynical description did Economidy on Facebook about his work was a publication "extremely inappropriate and showed a lack of opinion from me," said the agent by email. Write something irresponsible in a social networking site, experts say, could endanger the safety of an agent, as happened last year in Santa Monica, California, when the police department went to great lengths to conceal the identity and location of an injured officer, but another agent inadvertently revealed it on Facebook.
And defense attorneys increasingly review social networking sites in search of evidence that might detract from the testimony of a police officer. In a case in New York, a jury rejected a charge of carrying arms after learning that an agent had written in MySpace that their attitude was "misleading" and wrote on Facebook that I was watching the movie Training Day "catch-up with proper police procedures. "
In a case in Arkansas, a federal appeals court cited as evidence of the character of an officer who rose to the MySpace photos showing him pointing a gun at the camera, with a skull and bearing the legend The Punisher, referring to retaliatory cartoon character was also brought to the big screen.
The problem is serious enough for police departments across the country run to set standards to guide what the agents may or may not do online.
"This is something that every country's police chiefs have to deal with," said Mark Marshall, Chief of Police in Smithfield, Virginia, and president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, which has created its own model policy .
Chief Marshal said that his department has had a few embarrassing episodes. In one, an agent who had been involved in a high speed chase ended in a "small altercation" with a suspect in the network placed a comment about how well it had happened during the procedure. In another case, an agent showed a photo of a tattoo of San Miguel in his hip. Both were punished, said the Chief Marshal.
Unfortunately there are extreme events, "he said and you wonder" what were they thinking when they put it on the net? "
Most policies regarding social media try to balance the interests of the police department and the free speech rights of agents. Many policies include a ban on placing statements may discredit and / or give a bad idea department expressing irresponsible or disparage people based on race, religion or sexual orientation.
Most also prohibit police post photos of crime scenes or other evidence of criminal cases.
Others go further. For example, the Albuquerque police officers are prohibited from identifying themselves as employees of the police department or post photos of department-plate badges, uniforms, patrol, without permission. And the police department in Pueblo, Colorado, recently banned Online comments on matters of the department with people who do not belong to it.
Cops say that the courts have generally endorsed the restrictions on what people say when state employees what they say is related to their work.
In Argentina, a group of police officers were disciplined after taking Cordoba notoriety a series of YouTube videos that were filmed with their cell
" The Supreme Court of United States has commented on this so often that the parameters are well defined "said Martha Stonebrook, fiscal of Salt Lake City, which was co-authored a paper on social networks in the imposition of the law, presented at the annual meeting of the International Association of Chiefs of Police in Orlando last year.
a famous case in 2004, the Supreme Court upheld the dismissal of an officer who was filmed taking off his police uniform and masturbating and sold the video in the adult area of \u200b\u200beBay.
But David Hudson Jr., a specialist in First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University, said the lower courts have not yet completed to identify all the implications of Supreme Court decisions on freedom of expression related with work.
" The question of when employees can be disciplined for what they say outside of work is unclear " he said. " Part of our nature is what we do for a living and ban anyone any kind of expression related to their work is too broad ." Indeed
Albuquerque Police has faced resistance from the agents. Joey Sigala president of the Association of Albuquerque Police Officers said that while the department can decide what you wear and say agents during working hours, " not think they have the right to tell us what to do outside of work ."
said that requiring officers to ask permission before putting photos on the Web that contain images of logos of the department is difficult to transmit information on awards and prizes spontaneously with friends and family. " We removed the ability to demonstrate the good, the bad plus " he said.
Chief Ray Schultz of the Albuquerque Police Department said officers studied policies across the country to develop their own.
" have to understand this quickly because it has the potential to damage the reputation of the organization and also adversely affect one court " said Chief Schultz, adding that some social media sites appear "Like the bathroom walls 20 years ago, but now everyone can see it."
said his department has an officer dedicated to investigating the online presence of any agent " to draw the attention of the department, examining social networking sites and looking for the name of the agent in Google."
Media coverage is what often leads to the departments to act. Indiana state police set up its policy after the radio in Indianapolis WTHR discovered photos of drunks on the Facebook page of an agent. In one looked to the agent, Chris Pestow, pointing at the head of a drunk with a .357 Magnum. Also
made a comment about a homeless man beaten by police in California, saying: " These people must have died young, as they do a favor " according to the WTHR report.
After the dispute, resigned Pestow agent, said Sergeant David Bursten, state police spokesman. He said he instructed police officers: " not do or say anything that would not feel proud to see or hear his mother ."
"That sums it " he said.
When asked about his experience, Pestow said in an e-mail: " Having a written policy for Social Media Indiana State Police to make this mistake before I have benefited greatly .
Chief Joseph Thomas Jr. of police in Southfield, Michigan, said that in regard to social media is important that departments enforce discipline even for petty offenses. He cited a case in which an agent photographed goats on the roof of a neighbor before confiscating the animals. Then she put the pictures on the internet. He told the officer that'll take some photos of the site and he made a verbal reprimand.
" That was cute and did not cause any harm, but is inappropriate " said Thomas.
officials said
Department routinely monitor social networking sites when applying recruits enter the workforce. In one case, he said, one candidate wrote on Facebook: " just returned from an interview at the Southfield Police Department and I can not wait to give me a weapon to kick some rear ."
was rejected.
Source: The Nation
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