ProPublica exposed a Facebook group of border agents who have been sharing misogynist memes and comments about migrants
American people with vigilance, integrity and professionalism” is part of the ethos of the Customs and Border Protection, the agency charged with guarding America’s borders. On July 1st ProPublica, an investigative journalism non-profit, exposed a private Facebook group of current and former border patrol agents who have been sharing comments about migrants and misogynist memes about Latina lawmakers. The group, which has some 9,500 members, is called “I’m 10-15”, code for aliens in custody.
The Border Patrol agents are not the only law-enforcement officials who have been busy online. The Plain View Project, launched by Emily Baker-White, a Philadelphia lawyer, looked at the social-media accounts of 2,900 officers and 600 retired officers from eight police departments, including Philadelphia, Dallas, Phoenix and St Louis. It reviewed tens of thousands of posts and discovered reams of racist, misogynistic and anti-Islamic imagery and memes.
Jerry Ratcliffe, a former Metropolitan Police officer in London and now head of the Centre for Security and Crime Science at Temple University, finds the officers’ posts abhorrent, but worries about policing policemen’s thoughts. “Are we going to fire people for having views we don’t like?” Some of the posts are political in nature and are opinions held by a lot of Americans, including the president.
Richard Ross, Philadelphia’s police commissioner, put 72 of the 300 Philadelphia officers identified by the database on administrative leave. He expects some to be fired. The department intends to develop social-media training and will monitor officers’ accounts in the future. He has asked an outside law firm to conduct a probe to determine whether the posts are protected under the constitution’s first amendment, which protects free speech.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, are refusing to work with some officers. Larry Krasner, Philadelphia’s district attorney, says he is reviewing the database. Some officers may no longer be asked to testify in court because they lack credibility. He wants to avoid having to notify defence lawyers of any evidence that could help their clients . About 120 Philadelphia officers in the database have had federal civil-rights cases filed or settled against them.
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