The truth will out

As Social Media evolves, and our adoption of it en mass, we occasionally get stories such as this:

Via Mashable.com

In Bozeman, Montana misunderstanding social media may be a way of life, but in Calumet County, Wisconsin it’s proven to be the difference between a job in law enforcement and unemployment.

Last month Jennifer Bass, a Calumet County sheriff’s deputy, decided to literally burn off workplace steam in an unsettling way. She, along with friends, took to her backyard to burn a stuffed officer’s uniform, using sticky notes to identify fellow officers, in effigy.

She also filmed and photographed the burning in effigy, posting video and photos of the incident to herFacebook profile (footage included below). Now that the video, which includes racial remarks regarding the KKK, has surfaced to an audience beyond just Facebook friends, she’s since resigned from her position.

County Sheriff, Jerry Page, is openly apologizing for the incident, which was brought to his attention by an undisclosed third-party source. Also feeling the heat is Wendy Schmitz, a Sherriff’s investigator that was seen in photos posted to Facebook from the incident. Even though she attributes the racist statements to her coworker, she has admitted to participating in the burning and has been demoted as a result.

It’s an unfortunate stain on the county’s reputation, which claims to use Facebook for assistance with their everyday investigations. More information on the incident, and actual footage, can be seen in this FOX 11 report included below [media box].

On the one hand it’s a good thing we find out about the foibles of those who enjoy “public trust”, such as police, politicians, doctors, lawyers, clergy, etc.  On the other hand, there is such a thing as having a private life, a private life that has personal opinions, values, and the occasional bad behavior.  Well, I know I’m imperfect, and I’ve yet to meet anyone who was perfect, so I only operating on the assumption that everyone has that “occasional bad behavior”.

But we as a society have agreed upon standards of behavior, and our collective imperfectness aside, we coexist in large part because we can “politely ignore the possible imperfections” of people’s personalities as we come in casual contact with them.  Where it gets uncomfortable is when we have to come fact to face with those “imperfections” in situations where we can not “politely ignore” them.  Such as the public becoming aware of this officer’s behavior [on her own property, with her own property, and on her own time].

Having been a cop for a number of years I understand “blowing off steam“.  I also know that off duty cops can be quite ill-behaved and rowdy – among their fellows, the only place many feel comfortable enough to let their guard down enough to show their inner stupidity, personality flaws and weaknesses.  But, cops gotta get a clue: there is no genuine “on your own time” – they are a cop 24/7/365.  They also gotta get a clue: there is nothing private in this age of the internet, and cell phone cameras/videos.  Plus, they really gotta get a clue on this one: Facebook  & MySpace are not private…

THE TRUTH WILL OUT.

That’s a good thing for the public.  Who wants imperfect people patrolling their streets?  And, that’s not a flippant question.  We expect a much higher standard of behavior from certain professions.  If those in those professions are not able – or willing – to live up to those higher standards they need to do us and themselves a favor and MOVE ALONG TO SOME OTHER PROFESSION.