13 Dallas officers disciplined for social media “misconduct”

The Dallas Police Department has disciplined 13 officers for “misconduct on social media” discovered by Plain View Project researchers in 2019. CBS DFW reports the command staff is still working on two pending cases, the department said Thursday night.

The PVP reviewed posts on social media from 2010 through 2018. The Internal Affairs Division expanded its scope to 2019.

PVP identified 169 former and current DPD officers thought to be in violation of the department’s social media policy, but 60 are no longer with the department.

That left 109 officers under review.

Internal Affairs reviewed approximately 445 posts or comments made by the 109 officers.

Some of the posts did not violate policy, while some of the officers were identified as needing additional training, specifically for cultural awareness and use of social media.

The discipline handed out ranges from documented counseling to suspensions without pay.

“Every action by a Dallas Police Officer impacts our relationships with our entire community,” said Chief Renee Hall in a statement. “It is imperative that we operate with the highest level of ethics and integrity to ensure that the public is confident in the legitimacy of who we are as a law enforcement agency.”

DPD was one of eight police departments across the country reviewed by PVP, a watchdog group that compiled 5,000 posts by 3,500 police officers it found concerning.

In June 2019, the findings were revealed and prompted the police departments to conduct investigations for possible violations. In July, the Philadelphia Police Department announced 13 officers would be fired over racist or offensive Facebook posts and in December, two St. Louis police officers were fired over social media posts.