Cyberstalking Cops

From wirecutter, we see that a man saw cops doing donuts in a local parking lot and posted video to the Internet. The local police union has begun posting videos and pictures of the man, along with his identifying information. I was going to comment over there, but my thoughts became too wordy for a comment.

The cops get caught by a citizen doing something that they would ticket others for, and a citizen posts video of it. The cops get in trouble, and a social media war ensues. Here is the issue. You, as a public servant, are driving around in a highly visible vehicle that has a huge billboard painted on it. We had things like this happen to the fire department when I worked there. You know that you are being watched, you can expect to be in the spotlight, and you act accordingly.

At most, the officer involved would get a talking to about “don’t do that again.” That wasn’t what happened here. The police union decided to up the ante by posting in a public forum what amounts to public threats against the citizen who did the reporting. At best, the actions of the union are poor optics, discouraging citizens from reporting crimes for fear of retaliation. At worst, the posts of the man are thinly veiled attempts at intimidating a witness to police’s illegal acts, which makes this witness tampering, a serious crime in itself. Go with cyberstalking or even witness tampering

Cyberstalking is a crime in Texas. Texas law includes provisions that prohibit stalking and harassment through electronic communication. Including email, social media, instant messaging, and other forms of digital communication. Cyberstalking is defined as the use of electronic means to repeatedly harass, alarm, or annoy another person.

Under Texas law, cyberstalking cases can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony. Depending on the specific circumstances of the offense. The penalties for cyberstalking in Texas can include fines, imprisonment. As well as a restraining order to prohibit the offender from contacting the victim.

A reasonable person would consider the statements made by the police through their union to be a threat. Here are some of the posts that they made, each of them included videos, photos, and links to the guy who posted the video of the cops:

Never post anything on the internet you don’t want to see on the news… or the internet.

If you are going to ghost ride your car, like Hamon Brown, make sure the doors aren’t locked when you climb on top.

Remember Hamon Brown? The hater that went on the news to run his mouth about police cars in the snow (in a parking lot)? #DontBeAHater #ComingDine #GotEeem

Tag local auto glass repair companies. We’re looking for someone who can help Hamon Brown get his broken windshield repaired. He didn’t get any Crime Stoppers money for s̷n̷i̷t̷c̷h̷i̷n̷g̷ tattling, so we need a good sponsor that can hook him up.

The police union also posted screen shots of the man’s criminal record.

Comments made by police officers to those posts include statements like:

• I bet there is no weed smell coming from Hamon Brown’s vehicle
• Throw stones at cops, expect cops to look at your glass house

In my book, that makes the police union (in this instance) a criminal conspiracy. To threaten a member of the public who reported criminal behavior, simply because it was a member of your organization, is no better than the mafia or the South American drug gangs. I hope this man gets a lawyer, and I hope he sues the police union, who by the way do NOT have qualified immunity. The loss in this lawsuit WILL come out of the police officer’s pockets.