copblock.org
Here is the text of my cease and desist demand:
Members of our government,
Each year, likely tens of thousands of tax dollars contribute to the moderation and administration of MPD’s official Facebook which has been online since 2008. This letter is to demand that MPD cease and desist censoring, blocking, and deleting dissenting comments from this public page. It’s likely that hundreds or thousands of citizens have had their freedom of speech abridged due to MPD’s policies.
Article 1 Section 3 of The Wisconsin Constitution states in part: “Every person may freely speak, write and publish his sentiments on all subjects…”
Article 1 Section 4 of The Wisconsin Constitution states in part: “The right of the people peaceably to assemble, to consult for the common good, and to petition the government, or any department thereof, shall never be abridged.”
Anne Schwartz and Jon Reimann are responsible for the administration of this tax payer funded page. I was also notified via records request per Michael D. Jones that these deleted comments have not been retained which is likely in violation of record retention laws.
MPD seems to allow all comments which support their actions yet none which question or admonish them. For instance, yesterday MPD published an article involving the shooting by MPD of a robbery suspect.
Below are comments which were approved and published by MPD regarding a robbery suspect who had been shot by an MPD member. These comments have been up for nearly two full days. This man who has not been convicted of this crime. In the third post, Shawn Aldana appears to advocate for the execution of this man by MPD.
”Solo Acosta I’m glad MPD shot that punk.”
“John Bach Can’t believe the media put all those scumbags on the air last night screaming about this.”
“Shawn Aldana Should have finished him off. ”
“Maria Castro Sounds about right. Have the balls to point a gun at a cop? Get shot in those balls!”
“Mike Mcleod keep safe heather..ur gang is bigger than any criminal gang…..”
As an outspoken citizen advocate for government transparency, I am appalled that I personally have been blocked from commenting on MPD’s page. The few comments I’ve been allowed to make have been of the highest level decorum yet were dissenting from the beaming comments allowed by MPD’s administrators. This sort of censorship of a public forum is strictly prohibited by our Constitution and I request that it is remedied immediately.
The following steps must be followed to gain compliance.
1) Allow all comments that do not include threats or profanity by all parties.
2) Users must not be permanently blocked unless they violate profanity rules or engage in some sort of illegal conduct.
3) Users must be able to post all opinions, including links to articles, regarding MPD.
Please implement these policies immediately.
In Liberty, Tim – MilwaukeeCitizenPress
Anyone with questions about MPD’s FB commenting policy may contact
PIO Anne Schwartz at (414) 933-4444.
Members of our government,
Each year, likely tens of thousands of tax dollars contribute to the moderation and administration of MPD’s official Facebook which has been online since 2008. This letter is to demand that MPD cease and desist censoring, blocking, and deleting dissenting comments from this public page. It’s likely that hundreds or thousands of citizens have had their freedom of speech abridged due to MPD’s policies.
Article 1 Section 3 of The Wisconsin Constitution states in part: “Every person may freely speak, write and publish his sentiments on all subjects…”
Article 1 Section 4 of The Wisconsin Constitution states in part: “The right of the people peaceably to assemble, to consult for the common good, and to petition the government, or any department thereof, shall never be abridged.”
Anne Schwartz and Jon Reimann are responsible for the administration of this tax payer funded page. I was also notified via records request per Michael D. Jones that these deleted comments have not been retained which is likely in violation of record retention laws.
MPD seems to allow all comments which support their actions yet none which question or admonish them. For instance, yesterday MPD published an article involving the shooting by MPD of a robbery suspect.
Below are comments which were approved and published by MPD regarding a robbery suspect who had been shot by an MPD member. These comments have been up for nearly two full days. This man who has not been convicted of this crime. In the third post, Shawn Aldana appears to advocate for the execution of this man by MPD.
”Solo Acosta I’m glad MPD shot that punk.”
“John Bach Can’t believe the media put all those scumbags on the air last night screaming about this.”
“Shawn Aldana Should have finished him off. ”
“Maria Castro Sounds about right. Have the balls to point a gun at a cop? Get shot in those balls!”
“Mike Mcleod keep safe heather..ur gang is bigger than any criminal gang…..”
As an outspoken citizen advocate for government transparency, I am appalled that I personally have been blocked from commenting on MPD’s page. The few comments I’ve been allowed to make have been of the highest level decorum yet were dissenting from the beaming comments allowed by MPD’s administrators. This sort of censorship of a public forum is strictly prohibited by our Constitution and I request that it is remedied immediately.
The following steps must be followed to gain compliance.
1) Allow all comments that do not include threats or profanity by all parties.
2) Users must not be permanently blocked unless they violate profanity rules or engage in some sort of illegal conduct.
3) Users must be able to post all opinions, including links to articles, regarding MPD.
Please implement these policies immediately.
In Liberty, Tim – MilwaukeeCitizenPress
Anyone with questions about MPD’s FB commenting policy may contact
PIO Anne Schwartz at (414) 933-4444.
