Queensland police in stampede to exit racist Facebook page

Queensland police officers have been deleting posts and leaving a private Facebook group under investigation over alleged sexist, homophobic and racist content.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll. Picture: Liam Kidston

Queensland police officers have been “furiously” deleting posts and leaving a private Facebook group that is under investigation over alleged sexist, homophobic and racist content.

Queensland Commissioner Katarina Carroll conceded that an internal investigation required “some work” because of privacy settings on the Facebook page, where many of its 3600 members are serving and former Queensland police officers.

Operators of the “Defend the Blue” Facebook page, including a motorcycle policeman and a onetime member of the anti-bikie taskforce, indicated on Tuesday they intended to shut down the page within 24 hours.

It followed Commissioner Carroll’s email to the 12,000 sworn officers on Monday about “inappropriate content” on the Facebook page and announcing it was under investigation by the Ethical Standard Command of the police service.

After the email was sent, police sources said officers were deleting posts and leaving the group. One member said about 500 people had left the group.

“It’s all around the service – those that have been involved are furiously deleting and leaving the group, hoping they won’t be nailed for it,’’ a source said.

Commissioner Carroll confirmed a report in The Australian that the page contained racist and homophobic posts from officers. She said about 1700 of the Facebook page group were serving or former Queensland police officers. Hundreds of other members are suspected to be members of police services across the country.

There are also legal concerns about posts relating to the arrest of Northern Territory policeman Zachary Rolfe for the alleged 2019 murder of an Aboriginal teenager.

The Facebook page has existed for more than a year and was well-known to senior police but Commissioner Carroll took action only after complaints were made about the content.

“It is a closed site, so we do have some work in terms of investigating it,’’ she said, adding despite some posts being made under pseudonyms, some administrators had been identified.

Commissioner Carroll said she believed the group had been formed with “good intent” – with discussion about mental health and support services – but that a minority had been posting un­acceptable material.

“There’s a minority who say and do very unacceptable things – there’s racist comments, there’s homophobic comments – and those are not in line with our ­values or the expectations of the community,’’ she said.

“That site, its administrators and some of the people on there, and the pseudonyms they use, will be investigated. If disciplinary action needs to be taken, it will be taken.”

One of the administrators, known as “Webs”, posted that he started the group for a small group of friends with whom he worked or whom he knew “to provide a small opportunity for us to speak freely and support each other, in any way we possibly could”.

“I then became inundated with requests from around the state and interstate to join the group. It was said that the group supported officers and the topics and conversations were helpful, open and honest.

“At no time has this group been named or shamed for any breaches.”