QLD Police Investigated For Racist, Sexist, And Homophobic Posts In Private Facebook Groups
Queensland's Police Commissioner said the groups are run by a “small minority” and that “most police are decent".
Multiple Facebook groups have been discovered with racist, sexist, and homophobic posts made by Queensland police officers.
Examples seen by The Guardian include offensive slurs, and suggest women lie about domestic violence.
One of the groups include ‘Defend the Blue’, which criticised the Black Lives Matter movement, and lent support to a Northern Territory Constable on trial this month for the alleged murder of Indigenous man Kumanjayi Walker.
Defend the Blue has over 3500 members exclusively formed by both serving or former Queensland Police personnel, and is manned by a senior-serving officer.
Remember when Brisbane City Council's ethics committee found @jonathan_sri in breach of their Code of Conduct for a Facebook post saying police are racist? ?https://t.co/XgcCUrc3Fd
— Emerald Moon (@emeraldxmoon) July 13, 2021
The group was temporarily paused on Monday after debate erupted over the death of Senior Constable David Masters, who was struck in a hit-and-run in Brisbane last month.
State Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll has said she’s launching an internal investigation into social media use by officers.
“The content brought to my attention is incredibly concerning, disappointing and definitely does not reflect the values of our organisation or the majority of our people,” she said.
3500 current and former Queensland cops in a FB group caught posting racist, sexist and homophobic content. The cops are saying it’s a “small minority” like these aren’t prevalent beliefs in every police force. Acab!!
— Joshua Badge (@joshuabadge) July 13, 2021
“Due to the nature and content of the posts, I must investigate and take any action appropriate to cease the continued publication of this highly inappropriate and offensive material.”
She said the groups are run by a “small minority” and that “most police are decent and frustrated about the lack of action”.
Queensland Police Service currently has around 15,000 employees, but as pointed out by Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi in a tweet, “even if all members weren’t active police, it still speaks to their past and present racist culture.”
The news comes the same week that Queensland police issued a “public statement of regret” to an Indigenous activist, after officers pushed him off traditional lands on behalf of Adani last year.
Lead Image Credit: QBank