NYPD probes use of its computers to edit Wikipedia entries about Eric Garner case, others
A police car in Manhattan on Jan. 7, 2015. Credit: Spencer Platt / Getty Images
The NYPD is investigating the use of two of its computers to access and revise Wikipedia entries about the Eric Garner case and other controversial police actions, an NYPD spokesman said Friday.
The work stations were located in police commands outside the One Police Plaza headquarters in lower Manhattan, and investigators are trying to determine who may have edited the entries, the spokesman said.
Wikipedia is a public encyclopedia website that allows and encourages readers to make corrections, alterations and edits to entries.
Some of the editing involved entries on stop and frisk practices, Garner's death by an apparent police chokehold on Staten Island, and the fatal police shooting of Amadou Diallo in 1999. It wasn't immediately clear what the intent of the revisions was.
NYPD can only trace Internet access from department computers for a year, so only two Wikipedia entries related to the Garner case can be further investigated, the spokesman said.
The matter doesn't appear to involve any criminal law violation, and officers can access websites and Wikipedia on their own time, according to the spokesman.
If the Wikipedia editing was done through a department computer during regular duty hours, however, it could be a violation of department rules subject to disciplinary action, the spokesman said.
Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.
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