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Complexities of disciplining law enforcement officers who spew hate online discussed by CSUSB professor
Vice News
June 25, 2019
Brian Levin, who leads the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, was interviewed for an article about law enforcement departments dealing with officers who belong to social media groups “that deal in hate, or when they share hateful, violent, bigoted material online.”
Experts like Levin and law enforcement officials say that the shape of extremism has evolved since the 1980s, and it’s now harder to draw a line in the sand.
“Bigotry has changed,” said Levin. “Today someone is much more likely to be part of an echo chamber on the internet than they are to belong to some organized group.”
Complicating matters is that “the far-right is diffuse, comprised of individuals who self-radicalize online,” the article said.
“Courts have ruled that active participation in hate groups is grounds for dismissal,” said Levin. “But what the heck is active participation in a hate group in an era when certain portions of social media are 24-hour hate rallies?”
Police officials in St. Louis, Philadelphia, and Phoenix say they’re handling the officers’ posts on a case-by-case basis, trying to determine which are acceptable and which are not.
“I think you’ll see some attempt to differentiate between people who might have posted items sparsely, as a joke or for shock, versus those who have a systemic or deeply rooted type of prejudice,” said Levin.
Read the complete article at “Racists with a badge: How police are dealing with officers spewing hate online.”
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