SLO County Sheriff’s Office teed up racist jokes by posting photo of Asian drug suspect
A booking photo of an Asian man with a mouthful of gold teeth has generated racist comments on the SLO County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page — a classic example of why it’s time to stop indiscriminately posting mug shots.
It’s just too easy for them to become fodder for careless trolls who think any suspect is fair game for ugly taunts — never mind about innocent until proven guilty.
The photo in question shows suspect Anthony Wong, 33, grinning at the camera, clearly displaying his distinctive dental grill. The post has attracted more than 400 likes and nearly 300 comments.
A couple of commenters questioned the decision to post the photo, but the Sheriff’s Office was unapologetic.
“This was a wanted felon whose photo was taken shortly after his arrest. Mr. Wong was not shy about showing off his grill. The photo was not cropped or altered,” sheriff’s spokesman Tony Cipolla wrote in an email to The Tribune, despite the image being so tightly presented that parts of Wong’s cheeks were cut off along with the background, which is clearly not the typical gray screen that appears in normal sheriff mug shots taken at the jail.
Did someone think it would be funny to have Wong mug for the camera, so that he then could be a target for the online hordes?
Most comments on the photo commended the Sheriff’s Office for taking drugs off the street — Wong, who is on probation, was reportedly found with 1,000 counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl.
But there also were remarks ridiculing Wong’s last name, memes of actor Ken Jeong from the movie “The Hangover,” and attacks on anyone who dared suggest such comments were racist.
Here are a few:
“He made the Wong move.”
“Why does homeboy look like an old Asian lady?”
“Now I really wanna watch the ‘Hangover’ because of all these memes.”
Some posts have been removed because they didn’t meet the guidelines listed in a disclaimer.
Yet one commenter suggested there was nothing racist about the online attack: “This has nothing to do with Asian hate. That picture could have been anyone ... just so happens he is Asian.”
New ‘mug shot’ legislation
This type of online shaming is exactly what led to recent passage of a state law that restricts law enforcement agencies from posting mug shots on social media.
AB 1475, which takes effect in January 2022, prohibits law enforcement agencies from posting booking photos of people arrested for nonviolent crimes.
The bill’s author, Evan Low, D-Campbell, noted that mug shots often are posted “to shame and ridicule suspects, many of whom are dealing with serious drug addiction and mental health issues.”
“Furthermore, these posts perpetuate harmful racial stereotypes and foster implicit bias in a community and police force,” he wrote in a bill analysis.
Agencies will still be allowed to post photos of suspected lawbreakers for legitimate reasons — for instance, if they are seeking more information about a crime, or are trying to locate someone who was caught on a surveillance video.
The SLO County Sheriff’s Office is making changes that will bring it into compliance with the new law, according to Nina Negranti, assistant county counsel for SLO County.
“They won’t email a press release with a link to the mug shot. They won’t be able to have the mug shot of the nonviolent suspect on any type of social media platform,” she said.
And the office already has discontinued “Most Wanted Wednesday” — a weekly post that highlighted a suspect the Sheriff’s Office was trying to locate.
Grover Beach already complies
But why the slow rollout? Why not just stop posting mug shots now?
That’s what the Grover Beach Police Department has done. In a Facebook post about an arrest made in a recent shooting, the department announced that it would not be sharing a booking photo “per recent California legislative changes (Assembly Bill 1475) and Grover Beach Police Department Policy changes.”
That didn’t sit well with at least one Facebook follower: “Banning booking photos now ... cowering to criminals who have more rights than victims already, ridiculous!” she wrote.
That cuts to the heart of the problem. Just because someone has been arrested and booked does not make them a “criminal.” They are suspected of committing a crime, but have not been convicted and may never be found guilty or even charged, yet that distinction seems to be lost once a photo is posted in a “rogue’s gallery.”
In some minds, that makes it OK to shame the suspect not just for the alleged crime, but also for their race, their appearance, their clothes. If the suspect is known in the community, their family sometimes is verbally abused as well.
And while the hounding was extreme in the case of Wong, almost every suspect is mocked, no matter their race or ethnicity.
“We are equal opportunity when it comes to making fun of criminals,” one person posted — with absolutely no acknowledgment that these are suspects who could be innocent of the allegations.
There are signs that this outdated attitude toward mugshot shaming is slowly changing.
Many newspapers, including The Tribune, no longer routinely run booking photos in nonviolent cases, and now — with a nudge from lawmakers — law enforcement agencies are stopping the practice as well.
It can’t happen soon enough.
There’s no reason to delay until Jan. 1; we strongly urge all local law enforcement agencies to immediately comply with the new legislation on booking photos.
This story was originally published August 26, 2021 at 5:00 AM.