Even police departments are using social media to catch criminals!
Jacob Cox-Brown, a teenager from Astoria, Oregon, was arrested for a hit-and-run after posting on his Facebook page about the incident. His post, pictured above, has to be one of the biggest, or at least the most stupid, gaffes I’ve ever seen on Facebook.
Two officers responded to a report at 1am of a hit-and-run that left a white Scion and adjacent vehicles damaged in their parking spots. With no clues as to who hit the parked cars, the officers finally caught a lead via social media.
Police were tipped off after two of Cox-Brown’s Facebook friends privately messaged an Astoria Police Officer. The police department and its officers “have an active social media presence,” according to a press release from the department. They said, “It was a private Facebook message to one of our officers that got this case moving, though. When you post … on Facebook, you have to figure that it is not going to stay private long. We actually use Facebook to find things not unlike this.”
Your facebook posts can get you in trouble with a significant other, a friend, or even a family member, but you know it’s bad when what you post on Facebook is getting you in trouble with the law. Don’t drink and drive…or post on Facebook!