ST. LOUIS (KMOX) — Internal affairs is now investigating racist and violent Facebook posts allegedly made by current and former St. Louis City police officers.
Many include white supremacist overtones, are anti-Muslim, or express glee at being violent toward protesters.
Mayor Lyda Krewson, who called the posts "disturbing and unacceptable," said the city's social media policy, as she puts it, "leaves no doubt that such posts are not acceptable."
These posts are disturbing and unacceptable. This morning the Internal Affairs Division launched an investigation.Last year City adopted a social media policy to leave no doubt that such posts are not acceptable and to create accountability .
— Mayor Lyda Krewson (@LydaKrewson) June 3, 2019 Dr. Remy Cross, a criminology professor at Webster University said these kinds of scandals involving police make it harder for officers to do their job with the trust of the community."When you are identifying yourself as a law enforcement professional in social media and then you are posting these things, then you are making a link between your authority and position and these sorts of sentiments, and that has a corossive effect on public trust," Cross said.
The posts were discovered by the Plain View Project, an organization in Philadelphia, which looked at 3,500 Facebook accounts by officers in eight departments, including St. Louis.
One post from a St. Louis officer said "They said f--- the police, so I said 'f--- your 911 call, I'll get to your dying home boy when I finish my coffee." A lot of other posts feature the Confederate flag, white hoods and claims of "white pride."
Cross said extremists are trying to break into law enforcement.
"There's been numerous stories that I've tracked in my research showing white supremicist groups that have gotten employment in law enforcement, and so they see this as a place where they can get training and influence, but also it's possible that they are having an effect on the culture of fellow officers as well."
During a hearing before the House Oversight Commitee Tuesday afternoon, Congressman Lacy Clay spoke about the growing danger of white supremacists, and in particular, their hateful infiltration of local law enforcement agencies.
