Spokane County sheriff’s Facebook comments were turned off in 2024, not after deputy shooting

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office closed its Facebook comments section this week in response to vulgar comments related to this week’s shooting. KIRO Newsradio and MyNorthwest regret the error.

Two Spokane County sheriff’s deputies were shot in the line of duty Tuesday. One has died, and the other is not expected to survive. Thousands of people have since shared the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Facebook post, and thousands more have reacted. But no one has posted a comment.

That is because the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office turned off Facebook comments in September 2024.

“While the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) fully supports the Constitution and the First Amendment, it also believes in the importance of maintaining civility and decorum on a social media page that is easily viewed by children, young adults, parents of young children, people of faith, and others who do not want to be subject to inappropriate content,” SCSO stated in a 2024 Facebook post. “This includes but is not limited to vulgar language, swear words, and/or vitriolic speech, all of which may be protected by the First Amendment but can be inappropriate or offensive to some of our (SCSO) Facebook page users. SCSO is committed to ensuring that the page remains safe and respectful to everyone.

“As a result of this belief, and at the advice of legal counsel, SCSO is discontinuing the ability for anyone to comment on its Facebook page,” the post continued. “It will continue posting information and providing updates regarding crimes and incidents in Spokane County.”

What the Facebook comment ban means for the public

The public can still view Facebook posts and updates about crimes, investigations, and other law enforcement activity. However, users can no longer comment or debate those issues directly on the sheriff’s office page.

The decision effectively ends public discussion in the Facebook comments section rather than having the agency selectively remove individual posts.

Why the sheriff’s office disabled Facebook comments

In its 2024 Facebook post, the sheriff’s office said it supports free speech. But it argued that it cannot legally filter individual comments simply because they contain profanity or offensive language without potentially exposing the agency to litigation.

Rather than risk selectively removing comments, the sheriff’s office chose to shut down the Facebook comments section altogether.

“The courts have yet to provide clear limitations on what a public agency can limit on its page,” SCSO stated. “Until the courts develop a clear test or direction on defining what can be limited, SCSO remains unclear if it can hide or even filter any post, word, phrase, or even profanity without risking a First Amendment lawsuit, even if that lawsuit is ultimately found in favor of SCSO.”

The distinction matters because official government social media pages can be subject to constitutional protections governing public expression.

Spokane County deputy shooting leaves community grieving

The sheriff’s office and the community are grieving the loss of one deputy and preparing for the possible loss of another following Tuesday’s shooting at a home outside Spokane. The shooting left three people dead, including the suspected gunman, and three others injured.

Sheriff John Nowels said one of the injured deputies remains hospitalized and is essentially on life support. He is not expected to survive.

Another deputy was also injured in the shooting. The sheriff’s office has not released additional details about their conditions.

“A lot of the questions I have are about why, what caused this, why this person did this. We don’t have answers to,” Nowels said.