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Facebook post ill-advised, inappropriate By Mail Tribune Editorial Board Jun 12, 2020 12:00 AM A A Serving in public office comes with a responsibility to consider those you represent — all of them, not just those who agree with you — when making public statements. Talent City Councilor Emily Berlant apparently didn’t think about that when she added a vulgar caption to a Facebook post, or about how it might be perceived by the police department in her own city. On her personal Facebook page, Berlant posted an article from the online news magazine Slate about police brutality toward peaceful demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. So far so good. But she added the caption, “F--- THE POLICE.” Needless to say, Talent police, including a former chief of the department, took exception to that. Former chief Curtis Whipple last week called for Berlant to resign, along with Mayor Darby Ayers-Flood, who gave Berlant’s post a “like.” Berlant has apologized, saying “the word choice was poor and emotionally charged.” Ayers-Flood was less contrite, saying screen shots circulated at the June 3 council meeting were taken out of context. Berlant also pushed back against Whipple and fellow councilor John Harrison for what she said were personal attacks against her. “I will not be intimidated by you, and you will not censor me,” she said. Berlant and Ayers-Flood are entitled to their opinions about police practices and behavior in general, and to raise alarms about abuses reported elsewhere. They are also entitled to support discussions of policies and procedures governing the Talent Police Department. If they were private citizens not serving in city government, the content of their Facebook activity wouldn’t be an issue. But if they expect to have productive discussions with their own police department regarding race relations, social media rants against police in general won’t help. Councilor Eleanor Ponomareff, who says she supports Berlant, is backing a resolution before the council next week that among other things would reactivate the Talent Civil Rights Ad-Hoc Committee to conduct listening sessions with the public regarding racial justice and the internal policies of the police department. Ponomareff said she hoped the dispute over the Facebook post would not be a distraction from that work. It’s a little late for that. We don’t think anyone needs to resign over this unfortunate situation. But we hope Berlant and Ayers-Flood recognize that cursing police in general is no way to begin a discussion with the specific department they help to oversee. editorial.jpg