Apparently, police have a very skewed view of the meaning behind #BlackLivesMatter. This was once again made clear when a NYPD precinct commander recently came under fire for using the political hashtag in an official tweet.
An official twitter account for the 100th Precinct in Rockaway, Queens tweeted a photo celebrating the African-American heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson for Black History Month. “Jack Johnson became the first African American man to hold the World Heavyweight Champion boxing title in 1908. #Blacklivesmatter,” the tweet read with a photo of the late boxer.
The precinct’s profile picture is that of Deputy Inspector Janice Holmes, who is black. She immediately received the brunt of the backlash for using the hashtag, which some perceived as an attack on police officers.
“She’s making a political statement on a job website. Let’s see what the police commissioner does now. If they don’t take action, then I guess the police commissioner and the mayor condone this,” one opposing tweet said.
“How can a precinct commander lead people when she aligns herself with a group that is known to hate law enforcement and wants police officers dead?” Daniel McCaughan wrote about Holmes.
The hashtag within the tweet has since been changed to #BlackHistoryMonth.
Holmes told her bosses Friday (Feb. 9th) that she did not post the tweet personally but ordered that it be changed. The NYPD has rigid policies in place about who is allowed to tweet on behalf of the precinct's page and what type of content can be shared.
“There is no indication that any discipline will be given out,” an NYPD spokesman told the New York Daily News while also confirming that another officer put up the tweet on Holmes's behalf.
