Southlake Police removes ‘tone deaf’ social media post urging residents to vote
The Southlake Police Department has built a reputation for having a unique and entertaining social media presence in recent years, but a post Tuesday morning had few people laughing.
The department posted a simple image encouraging residents to vote. The word “vote” was spelled out using police equipment, including a couple of flashlights, handcuffs, gun clips, and a taser.
After some backlash, however, the department removed the image from its Twitter feed.
“It was causing a lot of issues. It was a little tone deaf,” Southlake Police Public Information Officer Brad Uptmore said. “That’s not who we are. We push kindness and love. That’s not what the message was. That’s on us. We made a mistake.”
Uptmore, who runs the Twitter account, said the intent was to mimic similar posts from other groups using the tools of their trade to encourage voting. For example, a farmers union using vegetables to spell out “vote.”
“We never in a million years intended that,” he said. “We made the post because we wanted to make sure people were kind and courteous human beings in the poll line. We’re pro voting and want people to be kind doing it.”
Uptmore has built a following for the Southlake Police Twitter feed with lighthearted posts. That was on display last weekend when the department rescued a beaver from a lake that made national news.
Tuesday’s post, however, didn’t go over as well.
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 4:19 PM.
