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A veteran Los Angeles murder detective is under scrutiny for tweeting a crime scene photo showing a dead body covered by a sheet - but the cop says the photo was harmless.
The LAPD told CBS Los Angeles that they have launched an internal investigation after veteran detective Sal LaBarbera tweeted the crime scene photo to his thousands of followers on Oct. 11.
"Guess where I'm at??? It never ends," LaBarbera posted using his @LAMurderCop twitter handle, along with a photo of a shooting scene in south Los Angeles.
The photo showed a dead body covered by a white and red blanket lying next to a blood-stained curb, surrounded by police tape and yellow numbered bullet-casing markers.
The male victim's black pants and gray sneakers are sticking out from beneath the blanket.
LaBarbera, a native New Yorker who has been on the LAPD's gang and homicide squads for more than 25 years, is a prolific and savvy tweeter who often gives shout-outs to his beloved Giants and Yankees.
The shooting scene tweet went largely unnoticed until a local arts blog, LA Taco, slammed the move as "cold" and "callous" in an angry post on Friday.
"Everyone knows the life of a murder cop is tough, and no one expects them to be cuddly, but I'm baffled as to why he would tweet a picture of a recently [deceased] person lying on the street and not show even a shred of compassion for the person or their family," blogger Erick Huerta wrote.
LaBarbera declined to comment for the Daily News, but he told CBS that he often tweets about crime scenes to raise awareness about gang activity in the area.
"That's the same exact photo the news folks would have taken," he tweeted after local news outlets picked up on the LA Taco post, according to LA Weekly.
LaBarbera also said the reports that the blanket was covered with blood were inaccurate.
"All should know re. The photo. It's a blanket not a sheet. The red is the design on the blanket. Sorry to disappoint," he tweeted on Sunday.
Police said the victim in the photo, Oscar Arevalo, 32, was shot in a gang dispute at around 9 a.m. on Tuesday, according to local reports.
The LAPD didn't give a specific comment about its investigation, but said it doesn't have a policy regarding cops using social media.
Source: NY Daily News