HIDDEN BIAS

Almost 400 Current, Former Cops Found to Be Members of Hateful Facebook Groups: Report

Reveal verified hundreds of current and retired law-enforcement officials were members of Islamophobic, sexist, racist, and anti-government groups.

Almost 400 current or former law-enforcement officers were found to be members of “hateful Facebook groups” that were anti-Islamic, Confederate, anti-women, or anti-government, Reveal reported Friday. Among those, 150 officers were found to be members of “violent anti-government” Facebook groups like the Oath Keepers and Three Percenters, while others were members of groups that contained “anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant memes” and other derogatory content that spread Islamophobic and sexist sentiments.

While some of the current and former officers denied even knowing they were a member of these groups, others were active posters on the private and public groups. One Madison County, Mississippi sheriff’s deputy who was a member of a “White Lives Matter” Facebook group admitted to using the “N-word” while being questioned about assaulting a handcuffed black man. A Chicago lieutenant, and a member of a group titled “Any islamist insults infidels, I will put him under my feet,” was found to have been the subject of 70 allegations of “illegal use of force, verbal abuse and criminal misconduct.”

More than 50 departments launched internal investigations when confronted with Reveal’s data, and at least one officer was fired due to his online behavior violating policies.