Some cops in Lake County, Florida, are in the headlines today for an anti-drug video they made which has wound up causing them a great deal of ridicule and more headaches than they had planned.
The video, which lays out the county’s plan for combating heroin use, opens with Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell standing at a podium while four officers stand behind him wearing masks and sunglasses. Grinnell then announces:
“To the dealers that are pushing this poison, I have a message for you: We’re coming for you. As a matter of fact, our undercover agents have already bought heroin from many of you. We are simply awaiting the arrest warrants to be finalized.”
Next, Grinnell issues what can only be called a threat:
“Enjoy trying to sleep at night, wondering if tonight’s the night our SWAT team blows your front door off the hinges. We are coming for you.”
The harsh language and images of the masked officers put a lot of people in mind of the terrorist group ISIS, and they quickly let the Lake County Sheriff’s Department know about it with posts on the department’s Facebook page:
No one wants heroin or heroin dealers in their community, but whose brilliant idea was it to put the officers in masks and make the whole thing look a damn military operation? This is the very definition of bad PR.
So next time, Lake County, dial it back a few notches and just do your job. There’s no need to make a video and publicize what you’re about to do.
Here’s the video the Lake County Sheriff’s Department posted on Facebook:
Featured Image Via Screengrab
