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A pair of high-ranked New York City Police chiefs violated department policy when they made “demeaning” and “unprofessional” social media posts to attack civil servants and journalists, according to a report released Tuesday by an independent monitor.
The Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD faulted the department’s Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry and its current top uniformed member John Chell for posts shared last year on the social media platform X that served to “diminish senior law enforcement officers in the eyes of the public.”
The posts coincided with the department’s effort to “control the narrative” by creating their own media apparatus and people deemed as hostile to the department’s goals.
Investigators cited several displays of “inappropriate” online behavior, including a post from Chell’s official X account accusing a New York judge of allowing a “predator” to be loose on the New York City streets. He later admitted that he had criticized the wrong judge.
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John Chell speaks during briefing before a raid in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Jan. 4, 2022. (AP)
Chell also attacked a progressive member of the City Council as a “person who hates our city” after she critiqued the NYPD’s response to anti-Israel protests on college campuses.
When attacking the City Council member again, Chell told his followers to “vote the change you seek,” which the report notes could violate the Hatch Act, a federal law that prohibits political activity of government employees who work in connection with federal programs.
At minimum, the online attacks ran afoul of basic internal guidelines, investigators said.
“They violated department policies related to being courteous and civil, and raise questions with respect to whether they may be deemed prohibited engagement in political activity by City employees,” the report reads.
The Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD faulted the department’s Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry and its current top uniformed member John Chell. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A NYPD spokesperson said the department has made “significant changes to its social media practices” since the investigation was launched last year but did not say whether any officials would face consequences for violating department policy.
In multiple instances, both Chell and Daughtry gave mocking nicknames to journalists, who they accused of spreading misinformation about the administration’s achievements.
Democrat Mayor Eric Adams, who is also a former police captain, defended officials at the time for “standing up for police officers who are placing their lives on the line.” Chell was named chief of the department last month, replacing another Adams ally who stepped down amid sexual abuse allegations.
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At minimum, the online attacks ran afoul of basic internal guidelines, investigators said. (iStock)
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A spokesperson for the City Council, Rendy Desamours, said the probe made it clear that the NYPD “must align its social media practices with the City’s established policy and maintain strong oversight to ensure compliance.”
“Ensuring the NYPD’s social practices are appropriate and respectful requires the Department to hold those found to have violated policies accountable,” Desamours said.
The inspector general said in the report that the online attacks had stopped after the investigation was launched last year, although it was not because of any official change in department social media policies.
“Rather, the department recognized that it could respond effectively to criticism without creating a public backlash,” the report said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.