Policy Text
PROCEDURE: Employees who choose to maintain or participate in social media or
social networking platforms shall conduct themselves with professionalism and in
such a manner that will not reflect negatively upon the Department, its mission, or the
employee.
Employees are free to express themselves as private citizens on social media sites to
the degree that their speech does not impair working relationships of this Department
for which loyalty and confidentiality are important, impede the performance of duties,
impair discipline and harmony among coworkers, or negatively affect the public
perception of the Department. Employees are free to express themselves as private
citizens on social media sites to the degree that their speech does not impair working
relationships of this Department for which loyalty and confidentiality are important,
impede the performance of duties, impair discipline and harmony among coworkers,
or negatively affect the public perception of the Department and in a manner that
would meaningfully impair the efficiency of the department.
All employees are cautioned that speech on-or off duty, made pursuant to their official
duties is not protected under the First Amendment and may form a basis for discipline.
Unless authorized, by the Chief of Police employees shall not implicitly or by
inference identify themselves as an employee of the Village of El Portal Police
Department. Additionally, Department logos, uniforms, or similar identifying items
shall not be used on personal web pages without approval from the Chief of Police.
Furthermore, weaponry, owned by this Department and/or owned personally or
privately, shall not be displayed or referenced to, in any multimedia format, on a social
media, or social networking sites if such violence.
PROHIBITIONS: Employees are prohibited from posting any speech containing or
acts and statements or other forms of speech that ridicule, malign, disparage, or otherwise
express bias against any race, any religion, or any protected class of individuals, or speech
reflecting behavior that would reasonably be considered reckless or irresponsible.
Employees are prohibited from divulging information gained by reason of their authority;
make any statements, speeches, appearances, and endorsements; or publish materials that
could reasonably be considered to represent the views or position of the Department without
express authorization.
Employees should be aware they may be subject to civil litigation for: Publishing or posting
false information that harms the reputation of another person, group, or organization; and/or
publishing or posting private facts and personal information about someone without their
permission that has not been previously revealed to the public, is not of legitimate public
concern, and would be offensive to a reasonable person.; and/or using someone else’s name,
unlawful, derogatory, harassing, torturous, threatening, or sexually explicit language,
images, likeness, or other personal attributes without that person’s permission for an
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exploitative purpose; and/or publishing the creative work of another, trademarks, or certain
confidential business information without the permission of the owner.