High NYPD officers faulted for ‘demeaning,’ ‘unprofessional’ social media posts attacking critics

A pair of high-ranked New York Metropolis Police chiefs violated division coverage once 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 yr on the social media platform X that served to “diminish senior regulation enforcement officers within the eyes of the general public.”

The posts coincided with the division’s effort to “management the narrative” by creating their very own media equipment and other people deemed as hostile to the division’s targets.

Investigators cited a number of shows of “inappropriate” on-line habits, together with a put up from Chell’s official X account accusing a New York choose of permitting a “predator” to be free on the New York Metropolis streets. He later admitted that he had criticized the incorrect choose.

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John Chell speaks throughout briefing earlier than a raid within the Brooklyn borough of New York, Jan. 4, 2022. (AP)

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Chell additionally attacked a progressive member of the Metropolis Council as a “one that hates our metropolis” after she critiqued the NYPD’s response to anti-Israel protests on faculty campuses.

When attacking the Metropolis Council member once more, Chell advised his followers to “vote the change you search,” which the report notes might violate the Hatch Act, a federal regulation that prohibits political exercise of presidency staff who work in reference to federal packages.

At minimal, the net assaults ran afoul of primary inside pointers, investigators mentioned.

“They violated division insurance policies associated to being courteous and civil, and lift questions with respect as to whether they could be deemed prohibited engagement in political exercise by Metropolis staff,” the report reads.

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 Photos)

A NYPD spokesperson mentioned the division has made “vital modifications to its social media practices” because the investigation was launched final yr however didn’t say whether or not any officers would face penalties for violating division coverage.

In a number of cases, each Chell and Daughtry gave mocking nicknames to journalists, who they accused of spreading misinformation concerning 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 cops who’re inserting their lives on the road.” 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 net assaults ran afoul of primary inside pointers, investigators mentioned. (iStock)

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A spokesperson for the Metropolis Council, Rendy Desamours, mentioned the probe made it clear that the NYPD “should align its social media practices with the Metropolis’s established coverage and keep robust oversight to make sure compliance.”

“Making certain the NYPD’s social practices are applicable and respectful requires the Division to carry these discovered to have violated insurance policies accountable,” Desamours mentioned.

The inspector common mentioned within the report that the net assaults had stopped after the investigation was launched final yr, though it was not due to any official change in division social media insurance policies.

“Somewhat, the division acknowledged that it might reply successfully to criticism with out making a public backlash,” the report mentioned.

The Related Press contributed to this report.