Anselm's social media guidelines anger Fraternal Order of Police, supporters

The next time the Joplin Police Department considers issuing a report on a meth arrest, it needs to make certain it is kind and inspiring.

Those are two the guidelines City Manager Sam Anselm cited in his message revealing the social media policy he is putting in place following his controversial decision to end the popular Joplin Police Department incident spotlights.

Judging from the reaction on the Facebook page for the Fraternal Order of Police Southwest Regional Lodge No. 27, local police and their supporters are not pleased with Anselm's message, which said that the guidelines he was giving them are "probably found on posters in elementary school classrooms across the country."

Anselm has said he is concerned about the negative comments that have been left on the page and told the Turner Report that there could be legal problems with turning off comments for selected posts, due to First Amendment issues.

Those on the lodge's Facebook site also slammed what they saw as Anselm's hypocrisy, noting a social media message he had sent that did not seem to meet his guidelines.