Harford County Sheriff Under Fire For Meme-ing Arrests

The Harford County Sherriff's Office in Maryland has become the subject of recent criticism for a series of memes on their verified Facebook account. The memes, which explicitly target and mock suspects based on their sex and race has been explicitly criticized by one of the women featured on the page, who was grappling with heroin addiction at the time of her arrest.

According to a new report from BuzzFeed, Meghan Burmester, a 28-year-old South Carolina resident, who was addicted to heroin at the time of her arrest, found her picture on the page several weeks later. She has since denounced her inclusion, calling it "disgusting" and "unprofessional."

"The most embarrassing thing is watching this community that sees the page comment nasty things on my picture," said Burmester. "I read these comments from people who have no idea who I am and they don’t know the situation I was in."

Burmester appeared in a post featuring an image for "Ladies' Night" in Harford County, which features women who have warrants a variety of crimes, ranging from theft to traffic offenses.

It reads, "This month we are running our summer special – turn yourself in, and get a free stay at the Harford County Rock Spring Road Spa (a.k.a, Harford County Detention Center). Sorry, no pedicures, manicures, facials, massages, spa services included (or available)."

Maryland is far from the only place where these posts appear. The Mobile County Sheriff's Office in Alabama has a similar series called "Thug Thursday." BuzzFeed notes that the word "thug" already has racist connotations, which is why the sheriff's office justified its usage by stating, "A THUG is a violent person, especially a criminal" and the hashtag "#redyellowblackorwhite."

"It’s not based on race, it’s based on the offense,” Lori Myles, the public affairs director at the MCSO Mobile County Sheriff's Office. “And the majority of our thugs are white, Caucasian men.”

However, the tactic of meme-ing suspects, which has been on the rise in local law enforcement, has criminal justice advocates worried, believing that these posts are examples of public humiliation. They argue the behavior could undermine the public's trust.

"These departments are engaging in campaigns of public humiliation," Lynda Garcia, the policing campaign director at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, told BuzzFeed. "At the department level, it carries an entirely different sort of seriousness and culpability and really indicates a culture of discrimination and not caring about community trust."