Racist police Facebook group exposed

A private Facebook group of Queensland police officers, purportedly filled with racist, homophobic and sexist posts, is under internal investigation.

The ‘Defend the Blue’ Facebook page has 3500 serving and former Queensland police officers as members

A private Facebook group of Queensland police officers, which is purportedly filled with racist, ­homophobic and sexist posts – ­including condemning the Black Lives Matter movement – is under internal investigation over its “highly inappropriate and offensive material”.

The “Defend the Blue” Facebook page, whose 3500 members are serving and former Queensland police officers, is understood to have regularly aired criticisms of the arrest of Northern Territory policeman Zachary Rolfe for the alleged 2019 shooting murder of an Aboriginal teenager.

State MPs and Palaszczuk government policies are also attacked, along with fellow officers.

The closed Facebook group has  been run by a senior serving policeman for more than a year, and membership is open only to serving or former officers of the Queensland Police Service.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll on Monday emailed officers about the “inappropriate content” on the Facebook page, confirming it is now the focus of an investigation.

“The content brought to my ­attention is incredibly concerning, disappointing and definitely does not reflect the values of our organisation or the majority of our people,’’ she wrote in her email.

“Due to the nature and content of the posts, I must investigate and take any action appropriate to cease the continued publication of this highly inappropriate and ­offensive material.”

Queensland police told The Australian they were disgusted by the existence of the Facebook group – which is reportedly well known among senior police officers – and the lack of any action to close it down.

“It is full of sexist, homophobic and racist posts and it seems a blind eye has been turned to it,’’ one officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said. “It is run by a small minority and the numbers on the page are a concern but most police are decent and frustrated about the lack of action.’’

The Facebook page has posts criticising the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement last year after the murder in the US of African-American man George Floyd by a white police officer.

A Queensland Police Service source said the Facebook page also regularly published posts about the arrest and trial of Constable Rolfe over the alleged murder of 19-year-old Indigenous man Kumanjayi Walker in the remote NT community of Yuendumu.

His trial is scheduled to begin later this month.

While the closed page could not be ­accessed by The Australian, screen grabs have been obtained that show it published posts about Constable Rolfe.

A stubby cooler is also sold on the Facebook page which reads “I Back Zach’’, along with the group’s official motto: “We the unappreciated must do the unimaginable and see the unthinkable to protect the ungrateful.”

In her email, Commissioner Carroll does not identify the Facebook page or make references to the posts about Constable Rolfe but she warns that social media posts by officers could be seen as the official position of the Queensland Police Service.

“As QPS members, there is a significant risk when posting information on personal social media platforms that it could be perceived or misconstrued as information from an official source and/or sanctioned by the QPS,’’ she wrote.

“We also have obligations to adhere to the code of conduct when using these platforms in a personal capacity.”

In the email, Commissioner Carroll says she has been shocked by posts on social media by some of the 12,000 officers in the Queensland Police Service.

“The comments circulating about fellow officers and members of parliament on some so-called ‘closed’ social media groups are deeply concerning, nasty, defamatory, and, quite frankly, it beggars belief,’’ she wrote.

“There are many of you who are ‘passive’ members of these groups and I would ask you to ­reconsider your membership, as your tacit support gives them a sense of legitimacy.’’