Thread by @reveal

1/ Earlier this year, we found hundreds of law enforcement officers in extremist and hate groups on @Facebook.

Since then, as far as we know, only one dept has taken disciplinary action.

@willcarless looks at what depts could do to address extremism. revealnews.org/article/hundre…

2/ First, a little context: Our “To Protect and Slur” investigation, released in June, found that police officers across the U.S. trade racist memes, conspiracy theories and Islamophobia in hate groups on @Facebook: revealnews.org/article/inside…

3/ While we were reporting that story, we sought reactions from 150+ law enforcement departments about their officers’ involvement in these extremist groups.

Out of all of them, only @HCSOTexas has publicly taken action.

houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-t…

4/ Meanwhile, no other departments have announced significant actions.

For example ...

5/ @PortlandPolice said “no jurisdiction existed” for it to take any action against an officer whose Islamophobic comments were posted before he joined the agency.

More from @oregonian: oregonlive.com/news/2019/08/p…

6/ @NYPDNews said it couldn’t substantiate reporting showing one of its officers had posted misogynistic comments – even though we *showed them screenshots* from the officer, Randy Paulsaint.

7/ Louisiana State Penitentiary guard Geoffery Crosby was a member of more than 50 extremist groups on Facebook, including scores of racist groups dedicated to the Confederacy.

8/ Lawrence County, Missouri Sheriff’s Deputy Richard Crites was – and still is – posting anti-Muslim rants on his personal Facebook page.

9/ And despite warnings from his chief, Abbeville, Georgia police Officer Joel Quinn continues to post a steady stream of conspiracy theories and right-wing memes on Facebook, including recently sharing an anti-Semitic meme.

10/ There’s a lot departments could be doing to stop this. And it’s not about just avoiding the bad press from a racist post.

11/ Lt. Andrew Berntson at the @KetchikanPD in Alaska said agencies need to investigate applicants for discriminatory views before hiring them.

They should reach out to friends, relatives and former employers to gauge a candidate’s suitability, he said.

12/ This is part 4 of our ongoing “To Protect and Slur” investigation. We mentioned Part I above.

Part II: revealnews.org/article/the-am…

Part III:
revealnews.org/article/americ…

13/ We also published this interactive list detailing the activity of scores of the worst offending law enforcement officers:

revealnews.org/article/these-…

14/ Listen to @willcarless break down the investigation with @al_letson on the podcast:

revealnews.org/episodes/hate-…

15/ Want to dig into this issue on your own? Join our Reveal Reporting Networks: revealnews.org/network