PANAMA CITY -- A joke shirt will most likely lead to creation of a Panama City Police Department policy about social media websites and diversity training for employees.
The department has concluded its investigation into a joke shirt that was worn by eight employees during a charity kickball event. The results of that investigation were released Friday night.
The shirt, which reads "BDRT," came to the public's attention when an officer posted the words "The PCPD Baby Daddy Removal Team (BDRT)" under a Facebook photo of the team. That prompted an anonymous letter of complaint, sent to the department and local news organizations last month, which read, "I am HIGHLY offended by this and I feel not only is it completely inappropriate, but it's endorsed by the highest levels of the department. This is clearly a racial statement and the fact that it is so blatantly displayed is especially disturbing."
Chief John Van Etten responded by ordering an investigation.
According to Friday's news release, the investigators determined the following facts:
-the shirts were not purchased with Police Department funds and there were no logos, letters or other markings affiliated with the Police Department;
-the event was a charity event that was not sponsored by the Panama City Police Department and in fact was not held in Panama City;
-the team was not sponsored by, sanctioned by, or endorsed by the Panama City Police Department;
-the employees in the picture were on their off time, were not compensated in any way while playing in the game and did not utilize any Police Department equipment or city-owned vehicles for the event.
Officials also "concluded there was no malicious intent by the wearers of the shirts to offend any person, race, culture or group."
They added that no city, state or federal laws were violated and that the entry fee and uniform costs were not requested or paid for by PCPD.
"We have learned from this complaint and have identified the need for a social media policy addressing the use of such sites by employees," Sgt. Jeff Becker, the department's spokesman, wrote. "We are researching policies and procedures in reference to the use of social media websites by employees. There will be other adjustments and or additions to our current policies and procedures. We hope that through policy reviews and adjustments coupled with related diversity training will curtail any future events."
Copyright 2011 - The News Herald, Panama City, Fla.
