A public Facebook page has created a lot of buzz, as the Vacaville Police Department shares dozens of mugshots on their public page.
FOX40 News reported that the images shared were caught by a cellphone camera and were put on display even though suspects were still at the scene of an alleged crime.
Philomena Wothe was one of the individuals expressing discontent over the public posting. Her brother, Louis Latini, was one of the suspects whose picture was uploaded onto the Vacaville Police Facebook page. Latini’s image showed him next to a gun. In addition, a social media post said he was a convicted felon caught driving on a suspended license and in possession of meth and heroin for sale.
“He was on there and he wasn’t even in jail yet,” said Wothe. “I get a call and they says ‘Philly, your brother is on Facebook passed out or something and it’s on Facebook.’ I said who would do that? They said it was the Vacaville Police Department.”
According to FOX40 News, she found the post showing her brother in the back of a squad car and fired back by commenting on the post. Other individuals scanning the department’s photos are questioning the officers’ public sharing of the images.
With more than 8,000 fans, Vacaville Police stated that using their public page to post wanted criminals has led to several arrests.
The department responded to one woman’s comment minutes after it was posted, stating, “The public wants and has the right to know what’s going on in their neighborhoods. If you were his many victims I’m sure you would want to know who stole from you. These posts are in no way an attempt to humiliate an arrestee or their family members.”
