An independent monitor released a report on Tuesday stating that two high-ranking New York City Police chiefs had violated department policy by posting “demeaning” and “unprofessional” comments on social media targeting civil servants and journalists.
According to the report from the Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD, Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry and Chief John Chell were criticized for their behavior on the social media platform X last year, with posts that were deemed to undermine the reputation of senior law enforcement officials in the public eye.
The report highlighted that these posts were made during a period when the department was trying to shape public perception by establishing its own media channels and portraying certain individuals as adversaries to the department’s objectives.
Investigators cited several displays of “inappropriate” online behavior, including a post from Chell’s official X account accusing a New York judge of allowing a “predator” to be loose on the New York City streets. He later admitted that he had criticized the wrong judge.
At minimum, the online attacks ran afoul of basic internal guidelines, investigators said. (iStock)
A spokesperson for the City Council, Rendy Desamours, said 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 said.
The inspector general said in the report that the online attacks had stopped after the investigation was launched last year, although it was not because of any official change in department social media policies.
“Rather, the department recognized that it could respond effectively to criticism without creating a public backlash,” the report said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
