'It was simply humor': Maryland police department gets backlash for Facebook post

Mariana Veloso
Hanover Evening Sun

A Maryland police department received national exposure and some backlash this week with a post warning residents to wear pants when checking the mailbox.

On Tuesday evening, Taneytown Police Department posted this message on its Facebook page: "Please remember to put pants on before leaving the house to check your mailbox. You know who you are. This is your final warning."

When the post first went up, Taneytown Mayor Bradley Wantz said, it was received well by the community. But then the intended humor was misunderstood.

"When it spreads beyond that initial context you know people understand what the department does, that's where people take it out of context, and they start making accusations of taking away freedoms, taking away rights," Wantz said.

Wantz said the department received various comments, calls and emails of people claiming government overreach, even comparing the department to Russia or North Korea to signify some sort of dictatorship.

Even though Taneytown is home to about 7,000 people, the post has received 10,000 shares, 4,000 reactions and more than 10,000 comments.

The post also got national coverage including outlets like USA TODAY, Daily Mail, msnNow and various television stations.

"Our police department Facebook page is a mix of information and entertainment, our residents appreciate some of the light-hearted things that are put out on there and that was the inspiration of the post ...," Wantz said. "It was simply humor."

More:Maryland police remind residents to wear pants to mailbox: 'This is your final warning'

Especially during difficult situations like the current COVID-19 pandemic, Wantz said it's important to have a good laugh.

"In a job where their life is regularly in danger, (the Facebook page) adds another element to it, so it gives them a chance to put that light-hearted touch on the line of work that they're in," Wantz said.

"Hopefully people can see this and they can follow the Facebook page and hopefully it can help brighten up their day in the future as well."

Although the department does not plan on letting back on the humorous or satirical posts, Wantz said they will try to be more clear in their meaning next time.

"We'll say there may be a better practice of adding certain elements to a post to make it very obvious that it's satire, whether it's emojis or hashtags or things like that," Wantz said. "The officer that runs the page, he's going to continue putting up his humorous things and we're going to continue giving our residents a laugh."

Mariana Veloso is the Quality of Life reporter for the USA Today Network - Pennsylvania. Veloso focuses primarily on the opioid epidemic in southcentral PA, along with coverage of everyday issues in the Hanover area. If you have a story idea, you can email her at msveloso@eveningsun.com. Follow her on Twitter @MariVeloso9 to stay up to date with her latest articles.