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Cops Disciplined for Posting Effigy Video to Facebook

by Terrence O'Brien on October 1, 2009 at 04:10 PM

We give up. Seriously.

No matter how many cautionary tales we share, every week someone ends up dumped, fired, arrested, or worse. People just can't seem to learn that no matter how private you think something is, if you post it online, people will see it.

The latest victims of Facebook faux pas are members of Calumet County, Wisconsin's sheriff department. FOX 11 reports that Jennifer Bass, a sheriff's deputy, decided it was a good idea to stuff a police uniform, attach the names of fellow officers to it via Post-It notes, burn it in effigy, and then post the resulting video (some of which can be seen below) to Facebook. One of the deputies can even be heard on the video making an admittedly tasteless (but not racist, as has been implied) joke about the effigy's resemblance to a KKK rally. Photos were also taken at the backyard burning that implicated another officer, Wendy Schmitz.

Following the surfacing of the video and accompanying photographs, Bass resigned and Schmitz was demoted in both position and salary as punishment for her participation. Sheriff Jerry Page has publicly apologized, telling FOX 11, "This is the last thing I'd want to make public. This is an embarrassment to our department and to me."

Bass will have to worry less about what she posts online in her new role, though, as an Internet punching bag. [From: FOX 11, via Mashable]

Tags: facebook, facebook face loss, FacebookFaceLoss, fired, police, top

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