Dozens of US police officers punished for racist posts

Police forces in the American cities of St. Louis and Philadelphia have taken dozens of police officers off the street for posting racist messages and hate messages on Facebook. They are only allowed to do office work.

The Facebook messages have been compiled by The Plain View Project, which collects posts and comments from American agents about race, religion, descent and police violence. The makers believe that these views influence decisions that agents make in their work.

In St. Louis, 22 officers no longer patrols. "If the integrity of an agent is so questioned, it affects the entire criminal process," the chief prosecutor says.

In Philadelphia, 72 agents were already taken off the streets last month. An independent committee is investigating this case and looking at whether the statements of the agents fall under the freedom of expression. If not, punitive measures will follow.

The Plain View Project has stored more than 5000 posts from police officers in eight police regions in two years. A screenshot was made of each message. Erasing therefore makes no sense.