Law enforcement today has a serious problem: high-profile incidents across the country involving white police officers being cleared for killing unarmed black citizens.
The fallout has provoked people to take to the streets, including in Colorado, to protest the miscarriage of justice.
While this is happening, Denver police , of all things, tweeting innocuous sports tripe.
Messages from the police department’s main Twitter account often celebrate touchdowns and team victories, and read like every other message from sports boobs on Twitter during the game.
The rah-rah tweets come from the same account that releases information about crimes, asks for the public’s help to find missing persons, and identifies criminal suspects.
Unprofessional? Perhaps. Clever? Most definitely.
“It is a brilliant use for a police department,” said , who consults and trains law enforcement on media strategies. “It humanizes them and shows they are invested in the community.”
Cmdr. Matt Murray is the man behind the Twitter account and says it is about “building that relationship and trust.”
In three years, the account has grown from 5,400 followers to more than 38,000 and is among the most popular police feeds in the country.
“The only way we get followers is by being interesting,” Murray said. “You have to put out content that people want to read. If we put out dry tweets, no one will follow.”
Denver police staffers tweet, post on Facebook, create YouTube videos and produce podcasts. Messages range from traditional law enforcement alerts to critiques of news reports, counters to union claims and, yes, celebrations of Broncos’ TDs.
Murray has held chats on Reddit, answering every question posed. It’s a refreshing new way of communicating — even if some of it can be grating and one-sided.
When the government, especially the police, flirts with being a news provider, it can be concerning. It brings to mind Soviet-style state news services, propaganda and a loss of press freedom.
Yet it would be more troubling if the department cut off all communication and resorted to only its own messaging. The press still plays a vital role, and it seems that Murray understands that.
“There is a line,” Murray said. “Where that line is, I don’t know. We are all learning this together.”
Murray blames shoddy reporting and inaccurate news reports for why the department began to write its own side to stories.
“It is difficult for the media to tell an in-depth story because of space and time limitations,” he told The Denver Post in 2013. “We don’t have those limitations. We can tell a more accurate, in-depth story than you guys. We are not obligated to find someone who disagrees.”
Murray said there are limits to what the department will post. He wouldn’t break news, like announcing a criminal probe into a public figure,
“There’s a whole ethical question — what role do we play in the media? What is the right thing to do and what is not?” Murray said.
“There should be some consistent community discussions.”
What if, say, Broncos players emulate the St. Louis Rams and enter the stadium with hands raised in a symbolic protest of the shooting of Michael Brown by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo.? Does the police department tweet that?
By providing running commentary, the department steps into the unsteady platform of news and opinion.
Effective use of social media can be tricky.
I like the department’s openness and free flow of ideas — even if it is sports cheerleading. Murray’s right: The Twitter feed is interesting and surely will be controversial. But it will never replace in-depth reporting.
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367, jpmeyer@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jpmeyerdpost
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