Online Activists Interrupt Chicago and Baltimore Police “Tweetalong”

Evan F. Moore | As of Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Last Thursday night, the official Twitter accounts of the Chicago and Baltimore Police Departments scheduled a “Tweetalong” that was designed to showcase to their Twitter followers, what police officers in both cities encounter nightly while on duty.

The Chicago Police Department’s (CPD) Assistant Director Jenn Rottner and Officer Mark Mora tweeted from the department’s official account. The Baltimore Police enlisted spokesman Jeremy Silbert to tweet from their account.

Both groups received tweets from well wishers until several “online activists” got wind of the Twitter activity from the men in blue.

After only 20 minutes, the Tweetalong shut down.

Twitter users who followed the Tweetalong, used the hashtag “#CPDBPD” to highlight instances of alleged police brutality. Some of the tweets mentioned Rekia Boyd, a Chicago woman who was murdered by an off-duty police officer, and Freddie Gray, who died while in Baltimore police custody.

Others tweeters mentioned the series of articles written by The Guardian newspaper detailing allegations of the CPD illegally detaining individuals at their Homan Square facility.

Others following the Tweetalong posted statements such as “Dear #CPDBPD: Do you believe your departments are bound by or above the law when it comes to Freedom of Information requests?” and “Do you share and compare stats of unlawful arrests and mistreating prisoners while in your custody? #CPDBPD”

Chicago Police Department communications director Anthony Guglielmi recently told reporters that social media is a great tool for the general public to understand how cops approach their jobs.

"Are there negative comments on there? Sure," said the former Baltimore police spokesman. "I think negative comments are the reason that people need to know what it's like to police the city of Chicago — a front row seat to see what officers do every day to keep the city safe."

Guglielmi went on to say the CPD plans on hosting future Tweetalongs with other law enforcement agencies from major cities.

The Chicago and Baltimore Police departments have a combined total of 41,000 Twitter followers.

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