Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — The police chief in St. Louis County is limiting his officers’ social media use after a precinct’s Facebook page linked the dangers of toy guns to the fatal police shooting of a 12-year-old Ohio boy.
The post was quickly removed from the Fenton precinct’s page following complaints. St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar later apologized.
Fenton is about 30 miles south of Ferguson, where a police officer fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown in August. St. Louis County police investigated that shooting and helped during ensuing protests.
The Fenton precinct’s Facebook post referred to a Cleveland police officer who fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice last month while responding to a report about a youth playing with a gun in a park. The weapon was a pellet gun.
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