Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo says he and some of his officers have been harassed, lied about and had their identities falsely used in online blogs and in reader comment sections on local media Internet sites.

They've had enough.

In a meeting this month with department brass, Acevedo and the group discussed how they think such posts erode public trust in the department and how they have been wrongly maligned.

They have since researched their legal options and decided that from now on, they might launch formal investigations into such posts, Acevedo said. He said investigators might seek search warrants or subpoenas from judges to learn the identities of the authors - he thinks some could be department employees - and possibly sue them for libel or file charges if investigators think a crime was committed.

Details.

[Don't reply to this post anonymously.]

[It is an interesting question as to whether your own employees are damaging office morale by anonymously posting lies about your own personnel.]

I agree with the Chief.

If someone is publicly suggesting that his department is corrupt, or that certain officers are corrupt, he has a duty to investigate the complaint and take appropriate action.

That means finding the complainer and investigating. You would hope the complainer would come forward, but if not, the cloak of anonymity should be removed for those purposes.

I see why it's frustrating, but what criminal offense is it that would justify a police investigation with subpoenas and warrants?

As far as civil recovery goes, a public official would have to show that this was done with malice vs. just political speech in order to sue for libel/slander, etc. I think that is tough to show with anonymous posters, etc. And you would have to show damages....

Would the facts fit the new statute for online harrassment etc?

Because nothing says "morale building" like threatening to sue your own employees for being disgruntled...

Maybe he could set up an email address where your friends and neighbors could report you to the government if you posted anything 'funny'.