Post by Logan on Jan 26, 2016 15:27:30 GMT -6
Baltimore police union official's 'offensive tweets' prompt calls for firing, condemnation from top brass
A coalition of Baltimore activists is calling for the firing of a high-ranking police union official for what it considers "offensive tweets" posted to his personal Twitter account, which they say "prove embedded racism" within the police department.
Both the department and the union have responded by disavowing the comments of Lt. Victor Gearhart, the first vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 and a 33-year-veteran of the Baltimore police force who works in the southern district.
Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, who has said improving police-community relations is one of his top priorities, took to Twitter himself to say the comments "do not reflect the values" of the department or "our great City" — and that he joined the union in "condemning" them.
But what action will be taken, if any, remains unclear. Lawyers for the department are reviewing the tweets to see if they broke with policies governing social media use.
Read more: www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-fop-vp-activists-20160126-story.html
A coalition of Baltimore activists is calling for the firing of a high-ranking police union official for what it considers "offensive tweets" posted to his personal Twitter account, which they say "prove embedded racism" within the police department.
Both the department and the union have responded by disavowing the comments of Lt. Victor Gearhart, the first vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 and a 33-year-veteran of the Baltimore police force who works in the southern district.
Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, who has said improving police-community relations is one of his top priorities, took to Twitter himself to say the comments "do not reflect the values" of the department or "our great City" — and that he joined the union in "condemning" them.
But what action will be taken, if any, remains unclear. Lawyers for the department are reviewing the tweets to see if they broke with policies governing social media use.
Read more: www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-fop-vp-activists-20160126-story.html