Cleveland police officer under investigation after promoting 'racist and anti-Muslim' messages on Twitter
The cop is under fire for allegedly retweeting pro-Confederate flag, anti-Muslim and racist tweets
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A Cleveland police officer is under investigation after allegedly retweeting racist and anti-Muslim images online.
Jennifer Ciaccia, Detective and Public Information Officer for Cleveland PD, told The Independent that officer Frank Woyma is currently under an internal investigation by the Bureau of Integrity Control. Ms Ciaccia could not confirm how long the investigation could take but said that it should be finished sooner rather than later.
Mr Woyma was promoted by the force in recent months from patrol officer to sergeant.
When the images first surfaced, Julia Shearson, executive director of the Cleveland Council on American-Islamic Relations, issued a statement condemning Mr Woyma's tweets calling them racist and anti-Muslim.
"While Sergeant Woyma is re-tweeting racist and anti-Muslim materials on a private account, his clearly bigoted views can only serve to cast a negative light on the Cleveland Division of Police and harm relations with the community he is supposed to serve and protect,” she wrote.
Mr Woyma also came under fire in 2006 for smashing a bottle over a man’s head, which the city settled by paying the victim $25,000, the Northeast Ohio Media Group reported.
There has been no comment from Mr Woyma regarding the latest alleged incident.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments