A message posted on the Facebook Page of the police department in Everett, Washington explains why Everett Police Chief John DeRousse has decided to suspend the ability for the public to make comments on their social media pages. Here’s his message.
This is a statement from Everett Police Chief John DeRousse:
“Over the past several months, we’ve seen an increase in comments on the Everett Police Department Facebook page that contain threats of violence or encourage violence against our officers. As a police department, we are not strangers to receiving criticism, but where we draw the line is calls for violence against this department or its officers.
In Everett, threats of violence against our officers are not imaginary. Our community still mourns the loss of an officer and we’re still feeling the impacts of other instances of officers being seriously injured on the job. While we all make the safety of this community our top priority, I also care deeply about the safety of our officers and ensuring they get home to their families after each shift.
This led to the difficult decision to turn off comments on our page for a period of time. Our hope is that after this temporary pause, we will be able to enable comments again.
I want to thank all our social media followers and express our appreciation for the respectful comments we regularly receive.
Have a safe and happy holiday season.”
December 19, 2023
Police Blotter