For NYPD Officers, Accusations of Offensive Comments Pre-date Facebook

Well before NYPD officers were accused of making controversial statements on Facebook — before there even was Facebook — there was "Thee Rant." The website bills itself as a place to find "New York City Cops Speaking Their Minds."

In recent days a furor has arisen over the Facebook discussion, regarding comments allegedly made by police officers that referred to people at the West Indian Day parade as "savages" and "animals."

It has since become a hot topic on "Thee Rant," with some commenters taking aim at Police Commissioner Ray Kelly for launching an investigation into the matter. Others have repeated the volatile language that set off the controversy.

“For the record, most of the participants at the West Indies Day Parade are f-----g savages who walked out from the jungle 2 minutes ago," wrote a commenter who identified himself as an officer. WNYC could not confirm that the commenter was in fact with the NYPD.

Ed Polstein, a former officer who started the discussion board in 1998, said originally anyone could join the site. He said now new members need to present ID confirming that they are part of law enforcement, the military, fire department or other uniformed services. Although he said thousands of members fit those categories, he estimated "a couple hundred" of holdovers from past years are civilians.

The site, he said, is necessary for officers "because you're keeping stuff bottled up. You'll go crazy."

Although there are moderators for the site, Polstein said most commenters have wide leeway: "I let the guys do whatever they want to. They have their right to free speech."

Polstein was fired by the NYPD in 2004 —  he said because of criticism on the site directed at  Kelly. The NYPD claimed in 2005 it was over a retirement deal. He agreed to change the name of the site from NYPD Rant to Thee Rant in 2008, as part of a settlement with the NYPD.

The NYPD did not respond to questions about the site.

Council Member Letitia James, however, has joined other elected officials in calling for greater oversight of the police. She suggested anti-corruption investigators be deployed to each precinct in order to conduct "integrity tests" on officers.

"It’s like stings," she explained, "to get a sense of their racial attitude, whether they have a tolerance for others, or as some of these websites have suggested, whether they hate the people they are sworn to protect."