The New York Police Department has identified two officers who used agency computers to sanitize Wikipedia entries about incidents of police brutality.
"Two officers, who have been identified, were using department equipment to access Wikipedia and make entries," NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton said. "I don’t anticipate any punishment, quite frankly."The agency did not identify the officers, who a police source told DNAinfo were exercising "their First Amendment right." However, the two officers might be reprimanded for using their employer's computers for unrelated work.
"We are quite clear that when you are using city computers, it is supposed to be for city business. This was not authorized business," Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday.
As many as 85 IP addresses connected to 1 Police Plaza altered entries for some of the most high-profile police abuse cases, including those for victims Eric Garner, Sean Bell, and Amadou Diallo. Edits have also been made to other entries covering NYPD scandals, its stop-and-frisk program, and the department leadership.
The two unnamed officers are believed responsible for the tinkering of the "Death of Eric Garner" page on Wikipedia. Garner, who was placed in a chokehold, was killed by police last year during an arrest that was captured on video by an onlooker. One of the edits altered "Garner raised both his arms in the air" to "Garner flailed his arms about as he spoke."