Internal Affairs Questions NYPD Facebook Posts
Posted by Dexter Nelson: Monday, December 12, 2011 (8:17 AM)

Internal Affairs Questions NYPD Facebook Posts

Here's a story I found interesting. Internal Affairs are questing NYPD officers and acquiring subpeonas for computer records surrounding The West Indian Day Parade, an annual event in Brooklyn, NY.

The West Indian Day Parade celebrates the culture of the Caribbean islands and is one of Brooklyn's largest outdoor events, while spicy dishes, fresh fruit, and dancers adorned in feathered and revealing costumes.

The history of the event though is one tainted with violence, in which a woman was shot and killed this year, and gun-related deaths back in 2003 and 2005.

On a Facebook group named "No More West Indian Day Detail," officers posted not only their frustrations but offensive comments about having to regulate the event.

Some called it "ghetto training," and a "scheduled riot," and some called participants, savages. One comment stated "Maybe, next year they should hold it on Riker's Island."

And it was more than a few... New York Police Department officials say that at least twenty of those types of comments may have come from police officers. According to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, Departmental charges could be brought, and said the department can discipline behavior unbecoming of a police officer or detrimental to the service, including actions online.

Out of this rises a First Ammendment issue. According to the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, government employess do have the right to express their opinions, but are the remarks "free speech" or "hate speech," considering the event, and the community is predominantly black?

There is a lot of debate that seems to be going on. This isn't a case of just one or two officers, but several officers in a deparment, and the actions appear as to be coming from the department.

[ Read Full Story Here ]