Thirteen Philadelphia police officers have been suspended for 30 days “with intent to dismiss” following an investigation into hateful or racist social media posts.
Four additional officers with less offensive posts will receive a 30-day suspension, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross Jr. said at Thursday’s conference.
The commissioner said the department will not be naming the officers at this time.
Seventy-two officers were taken off the streets and placed on administrative duty following allegations that officers posted hateful or racist content online.
Last month, Philadelphia police conducted its own investigation of social media posts made by 328 active police officers that allegedly included Confederate imagery, anti-Muslim sentiments, violent rhetoric and racist comments.
According to CNN, the social media posts were originally compiled by The Plain View Project, which describes itself as a “database of public Facebook posts and comments made by current and former police officers from several jurisdictions across the United States.”
Philadelphia is not the only city that has come under fire by The Plain View Project or been influenced by its findings: The St. Louis Police Department has launched its own investigation after the Project linked racist and anti-Muslim Facebook posts to accounts of its officers.
Ross said, “I continue to be very angry and disappointed by these posts, many of which in my view violate the basic tenets of human decency.” He said the department is exploring new mandatory training programs and revisiting social media policies.
