If there’s anyone who should be respectful, it should be a sheriff’s department.
In Latah County, Idaho, the Sheriff’s Department posted a picture of 19-year-old Andrew Cain on its Facebook page, a student who was brought up on small drug charges.
The accompanying text:
We have decided that Andrew Cain is no longer the Wanted Person of the Week… he is the Wanted Person of the Month of June. Congratulations!
Cain initiated a private message exchange with the sheriff’s department saying he wanted a copy of his wanted poster. The deputy responded with “[if] you turn yourself in, I’ll give you a copy of the wanted poster”.
Hours later, Cain committed suicide.
It was absolutely unprofessional for the sheriff’s department to use Facebook to call out a 19-year-old on a small drug charge. It’s also unprofessional to respond, no matter what that kid says.
It’s not bullying, and the kid’s family isn’t blaming the sheriff’s department for his suicide. But they have said that this is harassment, and that’s more plausible. Sheriff’s departments shouldn’t be using facebook to make fun of, post pictures of, and communicate with perps. To do so is to cheapen and denigrate the office.
