Utica Police Investigating ‘@*&#’ Utica Police Facebook

Utica, NY (WIBX) - Utica police say they are looking into a Facebook page called '@*&# The City of Utica, NY Police Department Page' which was recently created on the social media site.

The site includes comments that are critical of Utica police, and other agencies, referring to police as 'pigs' and asking Facebook followers to document any criminal activity they believe is being committed by members of the Utica Police Department.

Sergeant Steven Hauck, the UPD's public information officer, says the comments may be free speech, but other things on the page are not.

"...For several reasons. One, because they actually have used the Utica Police shield. That is intellectual property. So, that is something we are working with Facebook to get to the bottom of who the person is, and when we find out they will be prosecuted," Hauck said.

 "Essentially, what they've done is committed a forgery. They've basically used the property of the Utica Police Department to portray themselves as Utica police. You can't do that, those things are protected," Hauck said. "There's obviously free speech, you can say what you choose to, but you can't protend to be someone else or use someone's intellectual property to do it."

There is another facebook page that was recently created called 'Oneida County Sheriff's Corruption' which details the criminal cases of law enforcement officials locally and nationwide. That site includes an altered photo of the Oneida County Sheriff's Office badge.