Police officers fired over old posts and likes
Officers and recruits in the US and the UK. 9 published news cases, 2017 to 2026.
Scan yours first Every case links to its news source. Names left out on purpose.
- 8 of 9cases ended with the person losing the job, seat, admission or license.
- 5 of 7cases with a known age involved content a year or more old.
In 8 of the 9 the person lost the role: 7 were dismissed, 1 had a mixed outcome. In the other 1 they kept it, regained it or faced a suspension or reprimand instead. The content most often concerned race (7), violence (2), religion (1).
By type: meme or image (4), post or comment (2), like (2), private messages (1). Of these, 2 involved a like (see all cases of likes costing jobs) and 4 involved a shared meme or image (see the meme and repost cases).
5 of the 7 cases with a stated age involved content a year or more old.
These counts come from cases collected here. They are not a survey and say nothing about how often this happens. Names are left out, and each case links to its source.
For how screening works for this group, see the Guide for police applicants.
The 9 cases
Lost the role2026Police officer (18-year veteran), Minneapolis, MNLiked a comment FOX 9 said endorsed lynching
- What surfaced
- Liked a comment FOX 9 said endorsed lynching
- How old it was
- About 2 years
- How it came out
- Group members gave screenshots to Internal Affairs
- Outcome
- Fired
- What to look for in your own history
- A like on a post that demeans a group or endorses violence. A like counts even though you didn't write the post.
Source: FOX 9
Lost the role2023New police officer, Marion, INFacebook memes alleged to be racist
- What surfaced
- Facebook memes alleged to be racist
- How old it was
- 1 to 2 years
- How it came out
- Surfaced right after he was sworn in
- Outcome
- Fired 2 days after swearing-in
- What to look for in your own history
- A shared meme whose words demean a group. The scan doesn't read images yet, so a meme or screenshot needs a look by hand.
Source: WTHR
Lost the role2023Newly sworn police officer, Pleasant Hill, MOA Facebook post the chief called "a racist meme that targeted Black people"
- What surfaced
- A Facebook post the chief called "a racist meme that targeted Black people"
- How old it was
- About 1 month
- How it came out
- A resident recognized him from the swearing-in photos the city posted
- Outcome
- Off the force about 2 days after swearing-in; the city apologized and added social media checks
- What to look for in your own history
- A shared meme whose words demean a group. The scan doesn't read images yet, so a meme or screenshot needs a look by hand.
Source: KCTV5, Kansas City Star via Police1
Lost the role2023Police officers (8), London, UKWhatsApp messages from 2016 to 2018 that a disciplinary panel found racist, homophobic, disablist, transphobic and sexist, including about a celebrity's disabled son
- What surfaced
- WhatsApp messages from 2016 to 2018 that a disciplinary panel found racist, homophobic, disablist, transphobic and sexist, including about a celebrity's disabled son
- How it came out
- The messages were "unearthed"; the outlets don't say how or when
- Outcome
- Two serving officers dismissed; five former officers who had resigned and one dismissed earlier on an unrelated matter were also found guilty of gross misconduct. All eight were barred from policing
- What to look for in your own history
- Private chats and messages aren't in account exports. Assume anything you send can be screenshotted.
Lost the role2019New police officer, Tulsa, OKMemes the department said broke its policy on posts that express bias
- What surfaced
- Memes the department said broke its policy on posts that express bias
- How old it was
- About 6 years
- How it came out
- A community group sent screenshots a month after he left the academy
- Outcome
- Fired about 75 minutes after the complaint
- What to look for in your own history
- A shared meme whose words demean a group. The scan doesn't read images yet, so a meme or screenshot needs a look by hand.
Source: News On 6
Lost the role2019Police officers (13), Philadelphia, PAPublic posts 6abc called racist and offensive
- What surfaced
- Public posts 6abc called racist and offensive
- How old it was
- Some from 2010
- How it came out
- Plain View Project database of officers' posts
- Outcome
- 13 set to be fired; 72 had been put on leave
- What to look for in your own history
- Posts or comments a stranger could read as demeaning a group, mocking a tragedy or wishing harm on someone.
Source: 6abc
Kept or regained it2019Police officers (22), St. Louis, MOPosts AP described as racist and anti-Muslim
- What surfaced
- Posts AP described as racist and anti-Muslim
- How it came out
- A database project reviewing officers' public Facebook posts
- Outcome
- Barred from bringing cases to the prosecutor (7 permanently)
- What to look for in your own history
- Posts or comments a stranger could read as demeaning a group, mocking a tragedy or wishing harm on someone.
Source: CBS News/AP
Lost the role2019Police officer, Gretna, LALiked a colleague's post suggesting a congresswoman should be shot
- What surfaced
- Liked a colleague's post suggesting a congresswoman should be shot
- How old it was
- Days
- How it came out
- The newspaper told the chief
- Outcome
- Fired
- What to look for in your own history
- A like on a post that demeans a group or endorses violence. A like counts even though you didn't write the post.
Source: AP via KOAA
Lost the role2017Police recruit, Little Rock, ARA Facebook post with a racial slur and a picture of a sleeping Black man; his lawyer called it a joke among friends
- What surfaced
- A Facebook post with a racial slur and a picture of a sleeping Black man; his lawyer called it a joke among friends
- How old it was
- Over 4 years
- How it came out
- A fellow recruit raised it; the Black officers' association wrote to the chief
- Outcome
- Fired; his lawyer raised a free-speech objection
- What to look for in your own history
- A shared meme whose words demean a group. The scan doesn't read images yet, so a meme or screenshot needs a look by hand.
Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
More cases by group
- School boards and local office (15)
- Athletes (10)
- Teachers (9)
- Media and entertainment (9)
- Candidates and appointees (8)
- Executives (8)
- Healthcare (7)
- Fire, EMS and military (7)
- Finance and banking (7)
- Students (6)
- Coaches (5)
- Law (5)
- Volunteers (4)
- Clergy and religious employers (4)
- Tech and corporate (4)
- Nonprofit and university leaders (4)
- Likes (11)
- Memes (23)
See all 127 cases and the key numbers
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PruneSocial scores the text in your own account exports, including likes and comments, against published screening categories and gives you one cleanup action for anything flagged. It also lists political, news-event and workplace commentary separately as reputation flags. Try a free 50-item preview.
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