Chief of Patrol John Chell and Assistant Commissioner Kaz Daughtry
Photograph by Lloyd Mitchell
A slew of social media posts by high NYPD brass earlier this 12 months have been “unprofessional” and fomented an “unproductive public discourse,” the town’s Division of Investigation (DOI) present in a brand new report launched Tuesday.
The DOI’s Workplace of the Inspector Normal (OIG-NYPD) for the NYPD performed the investigation and report on the request of Metropolis Council Speaker Adrienne Adams final spring. It got here in response to a barrage of X (Twitter) posts by high NYPD executives, together with now-Chief of Division John Chell — who was chief of patrol on the time — and Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry, together with the division’s press workplace.
Within the posts, the officers brazenly antagonized journalists, public officers, and activists whereas expressing opinions that may very well be seen as political discourse — one thing that police officers and different metropolis staff are barred from collaborating in.
DOI Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber charged that “no aspect” of a few of the social media posts the company reviewed “served the public.”
“New York City deserves public officials who use social media responsibly, to communicate accurate information and to prompt respectful dialogue on issues of importance to the community, and not as a means to ridicule those with whom they disagree,” Strauber mentioned on Jan. 28.
NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell at a June 2024 press convention.Photograph by Dean Moses
Whereas metropolis investigators discovered that a few posts by the accounts “raise questions” about whether or not they may very well be seen as prohibited political exercise, they reached “no conclusion” on that time.
“We appreciate DOI’s comprehensive report,” an NYPD spokesperson mentioned. “We look forward to reviewing the report and recommendations.”
Mayor Eric Adams beforehand defended the NYPD’s use of social media to push again on its critics and lauded each Chell and Daughtry when requested about their conduct on-line.
“Several of the problematic posts this Office identified used hostile or negative language, either generally or directed towards a particular individual,” the report reads. “OIG-NYPD finds that these posts were inappropriate, offensive, and unprofessional and violated the [NYPD] Patrol Guide’s mandate to render services with courtesy and civility.”
These posts included Chell publicly blasting and misidentifying a choose for his or her determination to launch a person pretrial who then was accused of committing one other crime; antagonizing left-leaning lawyer Olayemi Olurin after she appeared in a contentious radio interview with Mayor Adams; and disparaging columnist Harry Siegel after he misquoted the variety of subway murders in one among his opinion items.
DOI additionally discovered that the division’s social media practices are out of compliance with citywide insurance policies, its executives function their very own accounts outdoors the supervision of the NYPD’s press workplace, and high brass aren’t skilled on methods to conduct themselves on-line.
“The Department should strengthen its social media policies, particularly with respect to oversight of executive posts, to ensure that all posts on the Department’s social media accounts meet the NYPD’s standards of courtesy and professionalism,” Strauber mentioned.
