Oakland Police Launch Internal Investigation Into Alleged U.S. Capitol Takeover Social Media Posts
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- The Oakland Police Department has launched an internal investigation into "allegations that current employees may have been involved on social media accounts that contain objectionable or offensive content" about the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Officials took to social media on Friday, announcing the action.
"We will not tolerate any form of hate speech, any expression that supports hate speech, or any acts of subversion, whether in-person or on online platforms," department officials posted. "It has come to the attention of the Oakland Police Department that there are allegations that current employees may have been involved on social media accounts that contain objectionable or offensive content."
Officials also said "whether on or off duty, employees of OPD are prohibited from affiliating with subversive groups, and they are prohibited from doing anything that brings disrepute to the Department and erodes the public's trust."
A warning was also issued to officers and others found in violation of the department's policies.
"The Department wants to reassure our community that a full breadth of our resources will go into this investigation to ensure that any members engaging in this behavior are held accountable," the post said.
On Thursday, the department condemned the words and actions of a former officer who said he participated in the march on Capitol Hill in Washington that ended in rioting and violence.
The statement opened with a general condemnation of "the violent acts that unfolded as an unlawful mob took over the US Capitol Building" on Wednesday, saying that they "were a disgraceful assault on our democracy."
It went on to single out a former police department employee who claimed to have participated in the violent insurrection at the Capitol and made statements defending the mob's actions.
"It has come to our attention that a former employee made statements that he attended the events in Washington DC and defended the actions of the takeover at the Capitol," the release read. "The statements made by the former employee were reprehensible and we wholly disavow his remarks."
On Wednesday evening, KPIX 5 reporter Joe Vazquez interviewed former OPD officer Jurell Snyder, who he said he was in Washington and marched with the crowd to the Capitol Wednesday. During the interview, he defended the same unfounded claims of voter fraud that President Trump has been making since the November election as the reason behind the violence at the Capitol.
While the release issued by the Oakland Police Department did not specifically identify Snyder the officer in question, it stated that it was a former employee who had not worked for the department for almost six years. According to Snyder's job history on his LinkedIn page, he was an officer with the department from 2006 until 2015.
The online news site Oaklandside said former and current Oakland police officers "liked" Snyder's Facebook posts about the storming of the Capitol.
"You approve, you like the actions of that individual (participating in the Capitol riot)? It's completely wrong and you should be fired automatically," said Oakland councilman Noel Gallo.
"It could be contributing to inciting violence and, in this case, sedition," said fellow councilman Dan Kalb.
Gallo and Kalb said any officers who support the riot would not be fit to enforce the law.
© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press and KPIX correspondent Da Lin contributed to this report
