Injustice Watch (https://www.injusticewatch.org/series/in-plain-view/)
A year after publishing In Plain View, Injustice Watch spoke with professor Leigh Raiford about the role imagery and photography play both in upholding white supremacy and in defining Black-led social movements.
Thirteen Dallas police officers have been disciplined following a department investigation into their Facebook posts after they were included in the Plain View Project database of social media activity by law enforcement officers in eight locales that could endanger public trust in policing.
A scathing report from a public commission on the firing of a black police captain confirmed longstanding claims that black officers in St. Louis are disciplined more harshly than their white peers.
The officers were among 22 active St. Louis police officers whose Facebook posts extolling violence, using dehumanizing language, or expressing bias against certain groups were included in the Plain View Project.
Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams announced her intention to fire, suspend, or provide supervisory coaching for 70 department police officers this week after concluding an investigation into those officers’ social media posts.
Philadelphia officials concluded that the Facebook posts of 191 active police officers violated department regulations after an internal affairs investigation, the city’s acting police commissioner told City Council members Tuesday. City officials, residents and activists called on the department to do more to change the culture within the Philadelphia Police Department.
Seven Philadelphia police officers have resigned in recent days, weeks after their posts were included in the Plain View Project database of troubling Facebook posts by police officers. Among those who retired was one supervisor whose posts were highlighted by Injustice Watch.
Across the country, officials and citizens alike reacted intensely the launch of a database revealing thousands of troubling posts by law enforcement. Top prosecutors in Philadelphia and St. Louis said they are reviewing the posts, and some police groups called on departments to take action against officers whose posts were included in the database.
A review of the Facebook accounts of thousands of officers around the US — the largest database of its kind — found officers endorsing violence against Muslims, women, and criminal defendants.