Harrison, NY – Officials in a suburban New York town are consulting outside lawyers to determine what they can do about alleged racist and inappropriate comments appearing on police officers’ Facebook pages.
One Harrison detective reportedly made watermelon and fried chicken jokes about President Obama. He and others reportedly ridiculed the town mayor, Joan Walsh, with inappropriate comments.
Calls to Walsh were referred Thursday to town attorney Bob Palladino. She told The Journal News, “I am appalled with their juvenile behavior.”
Palladino says town board members will meet Thursday night with lawyers hired to advise them about what if any discipline is appropriate.
He says the town has to be sure it can differentiate between what the officers themselves posted and what might have been posted by others on the officers’ pages.
Just yesterday, YWN reported (HERE) that a Mayor in a California town was under fire for making Obama-Watermelon comments in an email.
(Dov Gordon – YWN / 1010WINS)
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9 Responses
so much for freedom of speech, ever heard of the FAIRNESS DOCTRINE, makes Stalin look liberal
A police office of course has complete freedom of speech – but he is also representing the police force as a whole, as well as the community. No one is stating that the officers broke the law; the question is whether their actions reflect poorly on the police force and what actions should be taken.
2, You might be correct but in socialism you cannot have your own opinion. Just ask the Russians, Chinese, etc.
You are correct – in certain socialist nations, speaking out against the government is a crime.
What does that have to do with this article?
The police officers have every right to say what they want. What they don’t have is the *right* to be employed by the police department.
casualobserver — So if a cop says he likes Obama, the Department can fire him for that? Or only if he says something politically incorrect?
Joe (if it is ok to call you that):
That would be much more suspect, I would think. If you are insinuating that the comments made were merely “politically incorrect,” then you underestimate their effect. Such jokes are considered racist and are viewed as indicative of prejudice or bigotry. Police officers by nature are involved in the very essence of running and working with a community, which presumably includes African-Americans. If the department, or even just specific officers, are espousing racist views, or are saying things which legitimately could be cause for the perception that they are racist, not only would it strain the relationship between the police and the people they are sworn to serve and protect, but it also would run a large risk of hindering the department in performing its functions. Surely the police department has a very compelling interest in protecting from that danger; that interest most likely supersedes the interests of those officers in their employment as police officers.
Conversely, a police officer’s statement that they “like Obama” is extremely unlikely to have that effect.
This has very little to do with “political correctness. And if you are attempting to paint this as a liberal vs. conservative matter, I am afraid that you are mis-characterizing the issue a fair amount.
The one complicating factor I see is that the officers did not seem to have made such comments in the performance of their official duties. However, they did post them on a website which is accessible to the public, and (ostensibly) in their names (assuming that the town does indeed differentiate between those comments made by them, and those posted by others).
I read he resigned. Good. He should.
Those crying freedom of speech must also support neo-nazis (ys) right to march in the streets.
As a Jew, I do not have a difficult time empathizing with the symbols and criteria of racism that blacks experience(d), especially considering their history in America.
Veryinteresting:
I agree that he should resign, and that the department would be justified in taking disciplinary action.
However, I’m not sure what to make of the second line in your comment. Freedom of speech should not be portrayed as something to “cry.” It is a fundamental right, one which we should demand. I hate neo-nazis as much as anyone else, but you know what, I do support their right to march in the streets. It is a dangerous step to allow the government to decide what speech is acceptable and what is not for private citizens (whereas here, the officers were public servants). Your comment seems to imply that ideas and words should be censored sometimes, which I could not disagree with more.
I also agree with you last sentence; it is not difficult to empathize at all.