After being dragged online, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has removed a social media post that referred to the airstrikes that the United States carried out against Iran’s nuclear facilities as “tragic.”
“Our hearts go out to the victims and families impacted by the recent bombings in Iran,” the department wrote on X Sunday in a post that has since been deleted.
“While this tragic event happened overseas, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is closely monitoring the situation alongside our local, state and federal partners.”
An immediate outrage was sparked by the post, which was allegedly updated to remove the part in which it expressed condolences to “the victims and families” and referred to the airstrikes carried out by the United States military as “tragic.”
According to independent journalist Collin Rugg and Libs of TikTok, it was ultimately removed from the platform a few moments after it was initially uploaded.
On the other hand, prior to the post being removed permanently, it was met with a massive outcry of responses, which criticised the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for the insensitive and inaccurate post.
We sincerely hope that someone has hacked into your account. A response was provided by the American advocacy group Stop Antisemitism, which stated that the successful targeting of Iran’s nuclear sites last night did not result in any victims.
“Please verify this post was not posted by an employee of the LA County Sheriff’s HQ.”
“It is shocking that the LA Sheriff Department employs someone who would post such messages when our brave men and women are risking their lives to protect our country,” another outraged X user stated.
“That individual should be fired immediately and then investigated to find out what drove them to write these messages.”
““Los Angeles Sheriff Robert Luna should resign in disgrace,” said another, echoing the outrage. “Shame on him!”
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office issued a statement late Sunday “apologising” for the “offensive and inappropriate” post in response to the outcry over it.
“We are issuing this statement to formally apologize for an offensive and inappropriate social media post recently posted on our Department’s social media platforms regarding the ongoing conflict in Iran,” according to the statement.
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“This post was unacceptable, made in error, and does not reflect the views of Sheriff Robert G. Luna or the Department. As a law enforcement agency, we do not comment on foreign policy or military matters. Our mission remains solely focused on protecting public safety and serving our diverse communities.”
The department stated that it had “launched an internal review to determine how it was created and published” and that it had “updated” the social media post.
“Steps are being taken to strengthen our social media oversight protocols and ensure that any future communications align with our Department’s standards of professionalism, respect, and accountability,” the department continued.
“We appreciate the continued trust of our community and will work diligently to reaffirm that trust every day.”
