Wikipedia Entries On NYPD Violence Get Some Edits From Headquarters

First reported by Capital, and picked up by Reason, it seems that "Computers operating on the New York Police Department’s computer network at its 1 Police Plaza headquarters have been used to alter Wikipedia pages containing details of alleged police brutality." Computer users identified by Capital as working on the NYPD headquarters' network have edited and attempted to delete Wikipedia entries for several well-known victims of police altercations, including entries for Eric Garner, Sean Bell, and Amadou Diallo. Capital identified 85 NYPD addresses that have edited Wikipedia, although it is unclear how many users were involved, as computers on the NYPD network can operate on the department’s range of IP addresses. Besides edits to entries about specific instances of misconduct, edits from the same NYPD IP blocks were discovered in Wikipedia entries about the city's stop-and-frisk program and about NYPD misconduct more generally.

Comments

Surprise level: 0

[Anonymous Coward]

Police tampering with what amounts to evidence of their own crimes? Wow, what a suprise.

Strategy

[jargonburn]

Control of information is Paramount in maintaining a docile populace.

Re:NYPD

[BitterOak]

Cyber warfare. Destroying or altering public records is likely a criminal offense.

First of all Wikipedia isn't "public records". Secondly, Wikipedia is set up that way. People can make edits. Other people can edit the edits. It's bad form to try to bias an article with opinions or to state facts without citations, but it's not illegal. These changes were caught by editors and presumably corrected if they were in error or introduced bias. That's the way Wikipedia is supposed to work. This revelation might be embarrassing for the NYPD, but it is hardly criminal.

Re:hmmm

[wiredlogic]

I dont see a problem with changing "choke hold" to "arm bar" is that is what the police call the move that was done.

There is a world of difference between a choke hold and an arm bar. One breaks your arm/elbow and you get to live. The other can be used inappropriately and the recipient ends up dead. They are in no way the same.

Re:hmmm

[dirk]

I can see the revised police procedure manual now.

"When a suspect resists, but them in a "warm embrace" by placing your arm around their throat and squeezing."
"If a suspect does not follow your instructions, give them a "gentle scalp massage" with your night stick."
"Once a suspect is down, form a "cuddle pile" of 6 or 7 officers on top of them until they stop struggling."