Probationary Oakland police officer fired for posting racist content on social media identified
Jocelyn Chang Newman identified as the probationary officer fired for allegedly posting racist, derogatory comments on her Facebook page 12 years ago, KTVU has confirmed.
OAKLAND, Calif. - A probationary Oakland Police Department officer has been fired after racist, derogatory comments she made on her public Facebook page 12 years ago came to light.
OPD issued a statement on Wednesday. They said they learned of the bigoted content last Friday. They immediately launched an internal investigation and decided to fire the officer.
Univision first reported that the officer is Jocelyn Chang Newman, 30. A source later confirmed that to KTVU.
A source told KTVU that a local media outlet showed OPD the female officer's Facebook posts from more than a decade ago, where she posted the N-word. Since she was a probationary officer, the source said, it was easy to terminate her.
"Racism and bigotry are completely contrary to our core values and discrimination and hate speech will not be tolerated under any circumstances. OPD is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accountability," OPD wrote in a statement.
Now, the department says they are collaborating with the Alameda County district attorney's office to review any criminal cases that may be impacted by the employee's conduct.
"OPD is also investigating our hiring and screening procedures to ensure that the values of potential employees are in alignment with the city and the department," the department's statement read.
In addition to their statement, OPD's assistant Chief Tony Jones recorded a video released to YouTube where he pledged the department would "get to the bottom of this" and root out anyone with "racist, hateful views."
KTVU's Henry Lee contributed to this report.
Jocelyn Chang Newman identified as the probationary officer fired for allegedly posting racist, derogatory comments on her Facebook page 12 years ago, KTVU has confirmed.
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