By Dan
Linehandlinehan@mankatofreepress.com
Facebook post earns censure
In April, The Free Press
published a story about Gaylord police officer Eric Boon, who was accused by
the American Civil Liberties Union of disproportionately targeting Hispanic
residents.
On April 24, Boon was placed on
unpaid suspension for two weeks, but not for his police work. Instead, the
Gaylord City Council found that Boon “displayed poor judgment and engaged in
behavior unbecoming an officer” in a Facebook message he posted to The Free
Press story.
In his post, he criticized the
article and ACLU attorney Ian Bratlie, who he called “a brat that lies.”
The council also put him on
probation for six months. Boon didn’t return a call that was left with the
police chief seeking comment.
Boon had also been suspended
for two days earlier in April, but it wasn’t clear if it was connected to the
ACLU report. According to a letter from the police chief, the two-day
suspension was for “misappropriate handling and investigating of a juvenile
issue involving health and welfare” and for making “rude and inappropriate
comments” to a county employee regarding work related issues.
The Free Press learned about
the discipline in a September information request to the city.
Dan Linehan is a Free Press
staff writer. Contact him at 344-6355, or dlinehan@mankatofreepress.com