A pair of high-ranked New York Metropolis Police chiefs violated division coverage after they made “demeaning” and “unprofessional” social media posts to assault civil servants and journalists, based on a report launched Tuesday by an unbiased monitor.
The Workplace of the Inspector Normal for the NYPD faulted the division’s Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry and its present high uniformed member John Chell for posts shared final 12 months on the social media platform X that served to “diminish senior law enforcement officers in the eyes of the public.”
The posts coincided with the division’s effort to “control the narrative” by creating their very own media equipment and folks deemed as hostile to the division’s objectives.
Investigators cited a number of shows of “inappropriate” on-line habits, together with a submit from Chell’s official X account accusing a New York decide of permitting a “predator” to be free on the New York Metropolis streets. He later admitted that he had criticized the mistaken decide.
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John Chell speaks throughout briefing earlier than a raid within the Brooklyn borough of New York, Jan. 4, 2022. (AP)
Chell additionally attacked a progressive member of the Metropolis Council as a “person who hates our city” after she critiqued the NYPD’s response to anti-Israel protests on faculty campuses.
When attacking the Metropolis Council member once more, Chell instructed his followers to “vote the change you seek,” which the report notes may violate the Hatch Act, a federal regulation that prohibits political exercise of presidency workers who work in reference to federal applications.
At minimal, the web assaults ran afoul of primary inside tips, investigators stated.
“They violated department policies related to being courteous and civil, and raise questions with respect to whether they may be deemed prohibited engagement in political activity by City employees,” the report reads.
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The Workplace of the Inspector Normal for the NYPD faulted the division’s Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry and its present high uniformed member John Chell. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg through Getty Photographs)
A NYPD spokesperson stated the division has made “significant changes to its social media practices” because the investigation was launched final 12 months however didn’t say whether or not any officers would face penalties for violating division coverage.
In a number of situations, each Chell and Daughtry gave mocking nicknames to journalists, who they accused of spreading misinformation in regards to the administration’s achievements.
Democrat Mayor Eric Adams, who can also be a former police captain, defended officers on the time for “standing up for police officers who are placing their lives on the line.” Chell was named chief of the division final month, changing one other Adams ally who stepped down amid sexual abuse allegations.
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At minimal, the web assaults ran afoul of primary inside tips, investigators stated. (iStock)
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A spokesperson for the Metropolis Council, Rendy Desamours, stated the probe made it clear that the NYPD “must align its social media practices with the City’s established policy and maintain strong oversight to ensure compliance.”
“Ensuring the NYPD’s social practices are appropriate and respectful requires the Department to hold those found to have violated policies accountable,” Desamours stated.
The inspector normal stated within the report that the web assaults had stopped after the investigation was launched final 12 months, though it was not due to any official change in division social media insurance policies.
“Rather, the department recognized that it could respond effectively to criticism without creating a public backlash,” the report stated.
The Related Press contributed to this report.