MANSFIELD: Did Social Media Strike Again?

SocialMedia

Once every few months, yet another cop, deputy sheriff or prison guard — on some department somewhere in the United States — is outed for their membership in the Ku Klux Klan or some other racist organization, thus confirming the long-held suspicion that a certain small percentage of law enforcement types in America are conservative rightwing bigots. Indeed, their twisted racial views are probably what attracted them to their professions in the first place, and we should not forget that, historically, many of the men who burned crosses while hiding under white sheets at night were sworn officers of the law by day.

Recently, Julia Shearson, the executive director of the Cleveland chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), and a founding member of the Collaborative for a Safe, Fair and Just Cleveland, sent out an email calling attention to the behavior of Cleveland cop Frank Woyma, who was recently promoted to the rank of sergeant in a City Hall ceremony. During the ceremony Chief Calvin Williams said this class of supervisors has the ability to “set the tone” as the department begins to implement the reforms. “As I look out at the faces of these men and women, I am confident we will set that tone,” Williams said.

Really? What tone will Woyma set?

If Shearson’s allegations are true (and I have every reason to believe they are), then he’s not fit to wear a badge and carry a gun in the city of Cleveland. She called on that city’s Division of Police (CDP) to investigate whether a Woyma violated department policies by re-tweeting racist, anti-Muslim, anti-Obama and pro-Confederate flag materials on Twitter.

She alleges that Woyma has re-tweeted images of a Quran being flushed down a toilet and of President Obama’s campaign logo with the headline “This is a symbol of racism, I would like it removed from my country.” One re-tweet, with an image of a Crusader knight, is headlined: “I will turn back the Muslim hordes,” withthe note “Join our fight to save America.”

Woyma’s Twitter account is @2495blast, an apparent reference to his badge number 2495. What’s that “blast” part about? “Blasting” people?

Additionally, Shearson alleges that “Woyma frequently re-tweets materials produced by Islamophobes like Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, along with a number of items seeming to reject criticism of the Confederate flag as a symbol of racial hatred.”

If what Shearson states is accurate (and it won’t take a TV detective sleuth to make that determination), then the question becomes one of “What will the CPD do about it?” Will it be viewed as a series of pranks by one of their own, or will it be viewed for what it truly represents: Racism of the most ugly kind.

CDP policy explicitly prohibits social media communications by officers that has the “potential to negatively impact the law enforcement function of the Cleveland Division of Police…whether the conduct or communications occur on-duty or off-duty.” In another section, the policy states officers shall not post anything that “contains statements or other forms of speech that ridicule, malign, disparage, or otherwise express bias against any race, religion or protected class of individuals.”

In a blog Shearson operates she wrote, “In 2006, Woyma was accused of smashing a man in the head with a beer bottle during an off-duty altercation. The victim [who was white] was left with permanent partial hearing loss as a result of the assault. No criminal charges were filed against Woyma, but the city of Cleveland settled a $25,000 civil suit on his behalf.

She added, “While Sergeant Woyma is re-tweeting racist and anti-Muslim materials on a private account, his clearly bigoted views can only serve to cast a negative light on the Cleveland Division of Police and harm relations with the community he is supposed to serve and protect.”

Let me guess: Woyma is going to claim that since he didn’t actually originate the statements, but was only re-tweeting them, he therefore should not be sanctioned. But such an argument misses the point: Do we want someone with this alleged mindset on the CPD as we attempt to foster change in how Cleveland is policed?

These are very serious allegations being levied by Shearson, and how they are handled by City Hall will give us a clear indication in regards to the sincerity of the CPD when it comes to real change.

[Photo by Jason Howie]

mansfieldcity250

From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://NeighborhoodSolutionsInc.com.

Post categories:

Leave a Reply

[fbcomments]