Bozeman police officer apologizes for his Facebook remarks

By Michael Becker | Published: August 19, 2009

Cody Anderson, the Bozeman police offi­cer who made some unpro­fes­sional com­ments on his Facebook pro­file, apol­o­gized to the depart­ment and to the cit­i­zens at a press con­fer­ence Wednesday, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported.

Deputy Police Chief Marty Kent:

“We rec­og­nize how frag­ile and impor­tant the pub­lic trust is ... We had an offi­cer who made a poor deci­sion. I hope the pub­lic will not paint the entire agency with the same brush as they have this officer.”

Robert Vanuka, vice pres­i­dent of the Bozeman Police Protective Association:

“This inci­dent has brought dis­credit and embar­rass­ment to all employ­ees of the Bozeman Police Protective Association, the Bozeman Police Department as well as the City of Bozeman ... The actions of just one offi­cer can weaken pub­lic con­fi­dence and cast sus­pi­cion upon our police depart­ment as a whole ... We do not con­done this officer’s behav­ior and it is not rep­re­sen­ta­tive of” the department.

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This entry was posted in Ethics, Social Networking and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed.
  • Bozemanpublic
    We as a smart public whole..SHOULD question the entire police force...its not just one bad apple..its many!!! Think about it....one officer getting away with this kind of behavior....other officers LETTING HIM or encouraging it!! Bozeman police have done a good job...BUT...we should at least check into this alot DEEPER!!
  • Fire Cody Anderson
    Wow Julie! Are you from California? I live in Bozeman for a reason!! There are some wonderful officer's on the Bozeman Police force who do their job well. You say Mr. Anderson's " Personal comments on his personal social networking page should never have been brought into this!" What on earth are you talking about? His whole view is to "Harass and Incarcerate" NOT " Serve and Protect" and he brags about it! If you have ever been pulled over by Mr. Anderson you would have experienced his extreme "Bravado and egotism" the lawsuit states. This guy makes all the good officer's in town look horrible by staing "we" all over his facebook page....implicating the whole department. This guy is out of hand and needs to be fired!! You and I have rights that this paid "public servant" does not recognize. If I entered a home illegally(which I would NEVER even dream of!), I would be in jail and I would lose my job. But this guy is not being fired? No wonder Mr. Anderson thinks he can do whatever he wants and abuses his power! If I were you, I would reconsider what you have posted here!
  • Julie Wood
    This whole story has been sensationalized. If the real story ever comes out, the public will realize that Officer Anderson followed protocol in the situation associated with the lawsuit. Every working day, he is potentially risking his life to protect the citizens of Bozeman and of Montana. It is more of an embarrassment and a shame that the police department and the city of Bozeman is not supporting an officer who has been faithfully serving the public for years. His personal comments on his personal social networking page should never have been brought into this.
  • But his comments have been made a part of it now. He acted irresponsibly by posting comments like that on his profile, especially given his position as a public servant. Sure, he has a right to free speech, but that speech has to be tempered by the context and his own sense of professionalism -- a sense that appears to have been cast aside however briefly on Facebook. Regardless of whether the comments end up having a bearing on the lawsuit, the situation has opened up a new area of discussion: should public officials' social networking profiles be monitored? Do those officials really have freedom of speech on those sites? Where is the line between appropriate and inappropriate?
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