New York City’s watchdog agency launches probe after complaints about the NYPD’s social media use
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York City’s watchdog agency has launched an investigation into allegations that the city’s police department inappropriately used its official social media accounts to attack public officials and private individuals.
The city’s Department of Investigations confirmed the investigation in a statement Wednesday, saying it was prompted by recent requests from City Council President Adrienne Adams and the Legal Aid Society asking for an investigation into the NYPD’s social media policies and practices .
Adams, a Democrat, in her Friday letter cited reports from The Associated Press and others that highlighted how the department and some of its top officials have adopted a more aggressive online presence in recent months, using their accounts on the to deal with.
In a post in the reports, Patrol Chief John Chell said a Democratic city council member who criticized the NYPD over the arrest of pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University “hates our city.” In another post, from February, Chell misidentified a judge in a criminal case, falsely accusing her of releasing a “predator” onto the city streets.
“The recent use of official NYPD social media accounts to aggressively attack officers and citizens in our city, use dog whistles that could lead to threats and violence, and convey inaccurate information is dangerous, unethical, and unprofessional,” Adams said in a statement. Friday.
The NYPD did not immediately return a request for comment on Wednesday.
The Legal Aid Society, in its Monday letter, supported Adams’ request and also accused police of using social media “unprofessionally and unethically” to discredit pro-Palestinian protesters at local colleges.
The legal aid group pointed to X-posts of Chell and NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Operations Kaz Daughtry after the department cleared campus camps last week.
A report citing the organization noted that “a book on TERRORISM” had been found in Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall, saying it was among the items — which also included earplugs, helmets, goggles, knives and ropes — that “were not the tools of students protesting,” but rather “people working on something shameful.” The title was in fact a non-fiction book on the subject, published by Oxford University Press.
After receiving the two requests, “DOI began an investigation into the relevant social media use and sharing, as well as the city’s applicable policies,” spokesperson Diane Struzzi said in a statement.
The Legal Aid Society had also called for an investigation into the police response to the university protests, but the Department of Investigation declined to comment on that request.
In February, the NYPD’s top spokesperson defended the department’s social media tactics.
“We want to go on social media and push back on the misinformation that is out there,” Tarik Sheppard told the AP at the time. “Because if we don’t, it could damage the reputation of our police and the work that we do.”