Local law enforcement defend themselves after critical social media posts
By: Two Muskogee law enforcement agencies turned to social media this week to refute accusations made against the officers involved in traffic stops earlier this month.
The posts from law enforcement came after the relative of a woman involved in two traffic stops made serious allegations against officers.
One of the videos is from a traffic stop in Muskogee County on July 7th.
It shows a deputy pulling over a local woman.
The officer indicates he pulled her over for driving erratically and wanted to make sure she had not been drinking.
The Muskogee Sheriff shared the body cam video after a relative of the woman accused Muskogee law enforcement of racial profiling, screaming at the woman with a gun drawn, among other things. However, the videos tell a different story.
Muskogee Police also posted their officers body cam video after the same woman was apparently stopped for speeding.
We reached out to both agencies and the relative of the woman involved, but were unable to reach anyone.
In the Facebook post, the Muskogee Sheriff stated he shared the body cam video to be transparent with the public about what happened that night.
Brian Boyd, owns a digital marketing firm and is considered a social media expert.
“Social media gives a microphone to people who have never had microphones before,” Boyd, Co-founder and CEO of Digital Marketing Firm, C.C.B Holdings said.
He said it's a microphone you need to speak through with caution.
Boyd said the community can usually discern the accuracy of the information, but said it was good that the officers responded to the post.
“The community is a self-patrolling community. I’ve been on many sites, reddit, Facebook, etc.. Where the community comes around and says…hey, this guy is not acting right, or this isn’t’ true," Boyd said.
Boyd said while you can defend yourself on social media, it's never a good idea to get involved in a protracted argument on social media.