BOSTON — A high-ranking Boston Police official told 25 Investigates there is a concern within the department over officer safety in the city after rioters looked up officers’ personal information and followed them home.
First reported by the Associated Press, 25 Investigates confirmed a new warning has been issued by the Department of Homeland Security on the personal information of officers in Boston and several other cities like Washington D.C. and Atlanta being leaked online.
The information includes home addresses, email addresses and phone numbers. Four Boston Police officers recently reported they have been followed home.
A memo from the DHS, obtained by the Associated Press, warns about the effort known as “doxxing," which could lead to attacks by “violent opportunists or domestic violent extremists” that could prevent officers from doing their jobs.
Last week, 25 Investigates covered a story about an “officer safety advisory” issued by the FBI, citing “credible intelligence” that rioters are looking for officers’ addresses via public payroll records.
Some officers say they’re fearing for their safety, following massive protests and even violent riots in Boston and surrounding towns. Police cruisers have been vandalized and even set on fire, while rioters have thrown objects at officers.
Police departments have been the focus of a lot of frustration from the community as protesters continue to demand changes in policing, even calling to defund the police.
Boston 25 has reached out to the DHS for the warning memo they sent. We have not obtained the memo yet but will attach it to this story once it becomes available.
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