St. Louis Cop Allegedly Tried To Get Woman Fired Over Ferguson Tweets

In this March 3, 2011 photo, empty St. Louis Police department squad cars fill the parking lot at Central division during a shift change in St. Louis. Rarely have voters in Missouri's two big cities faced a tougher d... In this March 3, 2011 photo, empty St. Louis Police department squad cars fill the parking lot at Central division during a shift change in St. Louis. Rarely have voters in Missouri's two big cities faced a tougher dilemma. When they go to the polls next month they can vote to save themselves a nice chunk of money _ but doing so could cripple their local governments. St. Louis and Kansas City each collect a third or more of their revenue from a 1 percent income tax on both residents and nonresidents who work in the city. The long-standing earnings taxes were jeopardized in November by passage of a proposition that requires voters in each city to consider whether to retain the tax. The issue is on the ballot on April 5 in both cities. Tax opponents say the cities need to find less burdensome ways to fund operation. City leaders say consequences of defeat would include the loss of police officers, firefighters and basic services. (AP Photo/Tom Gannam) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

A St. Louis police officer has been placed under investigation after he reportedly called the employer of a woman who criticized the police during the unrest in Ferguson, Mo., the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

The department announced on Thursday that officer Keith Novara was being investigated after the woman, real estate agent Leigh Maibes, alleged he had tried to get her fired for comments she posted to Twitter, according to the newspaper.

After the officer allegedly called the woman’s bosses to inform them of the social media activity, the woman apparently called Novara and recorded the conversation, which she posted to social media on Wednesday.

In the recording, the officer reportedly confirmed he had called Maibes’ employers to let them know about her social media activity.

“To me this feels like intimidation,” Maibes said in the recording.

Novara maintained he was simply giving her employer a “heads up” while acting in his capacity as a police officer.

The Post-Dispatch reported that Novara’s actions were under investigation but he had not been suspended.

Latest Livewire
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: