California Police Chief- Fall 2013 CPCA_2019_Spring Magazine- FINAL | Page 29

Department personnel are free to express themselves as
private citizens on social media sites to the degree that
their speech does not impair working relationships of
this department for which loyalty and confidentiality
are important, impede the performance of duties, impair
discipline and harmony among coworkers, or negatively
affect the public perception of the department.
accounts would be wise to stick to personal opinions,
thoughts, or whatever they are comfortable sharing on
social media. The problem is when the two overlap.
I have seen far too many police chiefs, command staff,
and line level personnel who have “non-professional” or
personal social media accounts blur these lines when they
do things like this:
Their twitter handle contains their rank (e.g. @
ChiefJones_PD)
AND
As public employees, department personnel are cautioned
that speech on or off-duty, made pursuant to their official
duties, “that is, that owes its existence to the employee's
professional duties and responsibilities, "is not protected
speech under the First Amendment and may form the basis
for discipline if deemed detrimental to the department.
Department personnel should assume that their speech
and related activity on social media sites will reflect
upon their position and this department.
Their profile photos or posts show them in uniform or
portray their department patch, badges, or logos
They post official incident information from their “non-
professional” account
They’re responsible for their department’s twitter
account so you see identical tweets coming from the
department and their account at the exact same time
They post photos of themselves during their work day,
in uniform, during the course of their normal duties
There is almost always mention in their bio about, “…
tweets and opinions are my own and don’t represent
my department…”(Opinion: I doubt this would
stand up in a criminal/civil lawsuit or internal affairs
investigation).
This is not to say that law enforcement professionals
should never post about law enforcement issues from their
personal accounts. To the contrary, the issue is whether
an examination of their social media feed or profile has
anything in it that would make the average person think
they used the account in an official law enforcement
capacity (think back to photos in uniform, tweeting
incident information, etc). Now, mix this with a few
personal opinions about politics, religion, promoting their
personal side business or (fill in the blank) and it’s a recipe
for disaster.
Unfortunately, there are recent examples where police
chiefs have lost their jobs due to opinions they expressed
on social media, sometimes recently, and in other instances
from years ago. The takeaway is this: don’t mix the
two. Either keep your social media presence completely
professional or completely personal and private (with the
caveat that nothing is ever truly private on social media).
Recent case law has shown that law enforcement
agencies are able to limit free speech rights of police officers
and the topic has been written about in the media. Most
contemporary department social media policies draw a
distinction between personal (constitutionally protected)
free speech vs. speech made pursuant do their official
duties. As an example, the Mountain View (CA) Police
Department social media policy says the following:
Another area where police chiefs stray on social media
is when they break news on their own official social media
accounts. Breaking news will always draw immediate
“likes” and “reshares” of your post. Resist this temptation.
If your residents and media are used to following your
agency’s main social media accounts for news, it’s
confusing to now have news come from a different account
during a time of crisis. The best practice is to let your
agency break the news online and in turn, reshare that
agency post or tweet from your account.
In conclusion, I believe more law enforcement leaders
need to be seen and heard online to make us more present,
tell our stories, and be heard in the national narrative.
In doing so, take care to draw a clear line between your
personal and professional accounts. Your presence online
is a valuable asset to your community and organization. In
the same way that public events allow a forum for you to
express your leadership values, brand, and style, consider
stepping in to the social media world to do the same.
Your community is likely already there. Clearly know
and understand the “lane” your online presence operates
in (posting about leadership, community involvement,
etc.) and avoid crossing into the “lane” your agency
social media operates in (day to day posts, breaking
news, or positive stories about your agency). Don’t
let you discomfort with technology result in missed
opportunities to interact online. It’s well worth the time
and investment to use a communication mechanism that
has now become ■
i
Mountain View Police Department Policy 1055 – Social Media
http://www.mountainview.gov/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=20335
SPRING 2019 | California Police Chief
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