Miss. Cop Suspended for 'Liking' Facebook Post

Laura @ 9/6/2012 6:58 PM

Per the Dispatch story " The City of Columbus does not have a specific policy regarding Facebook posts..." I think there should be a policy so these guys know what they did wrong before being suspended for 30 days.
Apparently it's the later added comments that were the problem and not the original post. But who knows because it has been removed and again there is no policy!

Bob@Az. @ 9/6/2012 10:37 PM

Once again "Big Brother" pounces upon the defenders of the city. wonder how the council would stand up under a real close look at their comments? "No policy"? How the hell can you suspend someone if there is no policy? How about three lawsuits against the city council? This city (?) sucks.

c. britt @ 9/7/2012 5:50 AM

I guess police do not have rights as other people, this is bull.

Dan @ 9/7/2012 6:43 AM

Yet another example of political mismanagement that will cost that city plenty. The city will then cry poor mouth when it comes budget time and slash programs that are good and necessary and slash city departmental budgets, which could cost people their jobs. Smith and his 3 cronies that voted for the suspensions are idiots!

Doug M. @ 9/7/2012 6:44 AM

It is bull, of the first class. Time to remove some command officers. That said, I cannot imagine why anyone in the criminal justice professions would ever have a presence on these silly social networks. Nothing good ever happens, and they are a personal safety and security FAIL.

Trigger @ 9/7/2012 7:14 AM

I am not a facebook user however from what I have been told it is hard to believe what individuals post on it. I know that this site has many benefits for personal and professional. Unfortunately when you are wearing a uniform sometimes you need to keep your work at work. I have been in law enforcement for over 34 years with 30 of those years on the road. There were times that I wanted to share put a letter to the editor in the local paper about some of the stupidity, etc. that we dealt with, but there is a professional line that kept me from doing that. Policy or no policy sometimes we just need to keep our mouths shut or our fingers off the key board.

Robocop @ 9/7/2012 7:40 AM

This is WRONG! How can they violate a policy when there is no policy? Additionally what in the heck is wrong with asking where the mother was when a 2 yr old is run over by a car? Seems like a legitimate question to me and one I would certainly be asking as the investigating Officer! If the City has any sense they will recind these suspensions and beg forgiveness from these people.

Rev. Lowrey @ 9/7/2012 7:42 AM

More attacks on freedom of conscience. I can understand the military and DHS restrictions, but other public workers should not be inhibited from expressing themselves.
I often "like" a post because the person spoke up for their beliefs or presented an issue that deserves scrutiny, not because I necessarily agree with them.
A social media "like" should not be considered in employment decisions.
Actual comments on the other hand could have a different standard but I would think that would revolve more around what information and representative status a person had access to than their right to express their views - which are often expressed based on emotionalism and without the whole story.
Personal privacy should be protected and respected especially when it is now so easily violated.

halderon @ 9/8/2012 10:23 AM

You cant watch something, decide it is wrong, and then make a law against it, and prosecute people for breaking the law. That is called an ex post facto law( which means "after the fact") and is prohibited by this document called -The Constitution. The officers have a good case for filing suit.