Swissvale Police Chief Facebook Post Raises Questions

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that a recent Facebook post made by Swissvale police chief Greg Geppert is raising some questions about social media policies in the department and beyond.

"The chief said he posted the joke—which denigrates Muslims, Catholics and women—on his personal page on Saturday morning at the urging of a friend, and 'it was never meant to offend,'" according to the report.

The Post-Gazette also stated that Geppert apologized and said in retrospect, posting the joke was a bad idea.

Mayor Deneen Swartzwelder said that "everyone makes mistakes," but the issue will be addressed by council.

"We will talk about it more at length," she said. "We do have a policy in our handbook, but it doesn’t touch on jokes."

The current social media policy states that officers cannot post anything on Facebook regarding the department in general. The Post-Gazette also reported that Geppert removed the post from his Facebook page shortly after being contacted by a reporter.

"We never had this issue and we will address it in the department," she said.

Swartzwelder added that there will be no disciplinary action taken against Geppert and that she personally was not offended by the post.

"The conversation is ongoing," she said.