OPD Responds to Viral Sunbathing Photo

By Alyssa Schnugg
News editor
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

The Oxford Police Department fell under fire on social media recently for its reaction to a photo that went viral on Facebook and Twitter of several women sunbathing in their front yard.

A local man driving by took the photo of the women and posted it on his Facebook page. In subsequent posts, he posted the address of where the women were located, which incited lewd and demeaning comments from other posters.

The women contacted OPD about the man’s post.

On Thursday night, claims from the women were made on Twitter that an OPD officer brought the wife of the original poster to where the women live and suggested they remove their posts about the incident, claiming they could be charged with harassment.

OPD posted on its social media pages that they were “aware of a social media post” and have spoken to the reporting party (the women in the photo) and a formal report was made. The post was removed later by OPD.

On Friday morning, OPD Chief Jeff McCutchen posted an apology on the department’s FB and Twitter pages admitting the issue was not handled with “professionalism and understanding.”

“Yesterday, our department responded to an incident where several young ladies were victimized and harassed on social media. The post and comments were vile and disgusting! As a department, we did not handle this with the professionalism and understanding that we should have. Last night our investigators were assigned the case and we are working alongside the victims. We are determining appropriate charges and providing assistance to the victims. This case is ongoing and an open investigation.”

Calls to OPD were unanswered Friday.

The Facebook page of the man who posted the original photo was taken down from public view.

This is a developing story. Check Hottytoddy.com for updates.