Yesterday’s Post highlighted some fun comments from MoCo police:
August 2004: “In their country [in Africa] they would get shot for talking back to the police. By the way the international sign for ‘get the [expletive] on the ground’ is a gun pointed at you by a uniform police officer.”
The comments were made on the Union’s Message Board, which is not visible to the public. Of course, the Police Chief’s unhappy about the whole thing, and Hello MoCo has the best summary so far:
- Police Chief: Shut down the message board!
- Doug Duncan: There’s no room for “racism, bigotry and hatred” in the police department.
- The union: We’re not shutting it down, the board has a legitimate purpose. Don’t forget about free speech.
- NAACP chapter: Officers told us about concerns regarding the message board; not much was done about it.
- Casa of Maryland: “Outrage.”
So, should the message board, which isn’t public, be shut down? Well, free speech says No, it shouldn’t. Common sense, though, says, “Hey Guys, Generally, it’s a bad idea to say things on the internets that you wouldn’t say in front of a crowded room.”
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.
