Racist Facebook posts by St. Louis police getting 'extensive' review

ST. LOUIS — Police Chief John Hayden on Monday assured aldermen that his department’s internal affairs probe of racist, anti-Muslim and other offensive Facebook posts by some officers will be “an extensive process and a competent process.”

“I believe that messaging through discipline is one way culture (within the department) can change,” Hayden told the aldermanic Public Safety Committee. The discipline can be strong, he said.

Hayden and Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards added, however, that there are differences among the hundreds of Facebook posts by 22 current officers cited in a recent report by the Philadelphia-based Plain View Project.

Hayden noted that the posts range from some “deeply insensitive” to others “not as insensitive” but still of concern.

Read more: https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/racist-facebook-posts-by-st-louis-police-getting-extensive-review/article_69766716-009a-54b7-a0bf-a6d33b472528.html