Arkansas’s ‘social media cop’ barred from posting on duty

An Arkansas police officer who rose to prominence on social media is no longer allowed to post while wearing his badge.

Tommy Norman, who has been called “social media cop” because of his daily posts of himself interacting with the community positively, said in an Instagram video that the decision by North Little Rock police officials was part of an existing policy that they were cracking down on. 

In the post, he wrote that he would rather be known for his heart rather than his badge and urged people to stay tuned on his foundation Mission Give. 

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! PLEASE SHARE! Be patient! Everything happens for a reason! My passion to change the world just increased tremendously! Also stay tuned for more information on my foundation Mission Give, that will allow me to begin my legacy to not be identified by my badge, but by my heart! Please share today's news! Battle on! @mymissiongive

A post shared by Tommy Norman (@tnorman23) on Jun 28, 2017 at 2:17pm PDT

{mosads}“There’s a policy in effect at the police department that prohibits you from posting on-duty that is now going to be enforced,” he said in the video.

Norman said he respected the decision, but that he hopes to continue his community policing and will continue to post, though not on city time.

“You will see them but not as much,” he said.