St Louis cops probe claims that current and former officers posted racist, homophobic, anti-Muslim and violent statements on Facebook
- Organization called the Plain View Project studied thousands of posts from St Louis and seven other jurisdictions as part of a task that began in 2017
- Forty-three of the 3,500 accounts viewed by the group were tied to St Louis, with 22 of those involving current officers
- St Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson said the posts were 'disturbing and unacceptable'
- The St Louis police announced that they are conducting internal investigation
St Louis police are conducting an internal investigation into allegations that current and former officers posted racist, violent, homophobic and anti-Muslim statements on Facebook.
A Philadelphia-based organization called the Plain View Project studied thousands of posts from St Louis and seven other jurisdictions as part of a project that began in 2017.
Forty-three of the 3,500 accounts viewed by the group were tied to St Louis, with 22 of those involving current officers.
St Louis police (left, file image) are conducting an internal investigation into allegations that current and former officers posted racist, violent, homophobic and anti-Muslim statements (right) on Facebook
A Philadelphia-based organization called the Plain View Project studied thousands of posts (pictured) from St Louis and seven other jurisdictions as part of a project that began in 2017
St Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson on Monday said the posts were 'disturbing and unacceptable'.
The Missouri chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) demanded that city police undergo sensitivity training.
When digging through the posts, there are some that promote violence while in uniform and asked 'when is white history month?'
Other posts celebrate the roughing up of protesters and the shooting of criminals.
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Some posts objectify women, contain homophobic slurs and express disgust for Islam.
'Just saying... I'll be glad when the gay portion of the prime time Olympics are over!!' one post reads.
'I think there are enough of these posts out there that this doesn't seem like a "bad apples" problem, it seems like a culture problem,' Emily Baker-White, the founder of the Plain View Project, said.
'I fear that people in these communities might be less likely to ask an officer for help,' Baker-White added.
'Just saying... I'll be glad when the gay portion of the prime time Olympics are over!!' one post reads
St Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson on Monday said the posts were 'disturbing and unacceptable'
According to the St Louis Post-Dispatch, Ron Hasty, a St Louis sergeant is named by the Plain View Project in connection with the Facebook profile 'Ron Nighthawk'.
There are at least 30 posts that appear under the Nighthawk name within the Plain View Project's site.
Hasty, who is the head of the city’s trash task force, told the newspaper: 'I’m not a racist. You can talk to any of my friends.'
Between 2006 and 2007, Hasty won two Medal of Valor awards from Crusade Against Crime.
He was also named the St Louis Police Department’s Officer of the Year in 2006.
The project also lists the officers' salary and their positions online. Hasty makes more than $70,000 as a sergeant.
Jeff Roorda, business manager of the St Louis Police Officers' Association, said the union is trying to set up a meeting with CAIR.
'Until the source of the posts is verified and authenticated, we're not going to comment on any speculation that any of these posts originated with police officers who we represent,' he said in a written response to questions.
Krewson said in a statement that the city's social media policy adopted last September makes it clear such posts are unacceptable.
'We expect professionalism out of every City employee,' she said.
