The coppers edited and attempted to delete Wikipedia entries for several well-known police victims including entries for Eric Garner, Sean Bell, and Amadou Diallo. Capital identified 85 NYPD addresses that have edited Wikipedia, although it is unclear how many users were involved, as computers on the NYPD network can operate on the department’s range of IP addresses.
NYPD IP addresses have also been used to edit entries on stop-and-frisk, NYPD scandals, and prominent figures in the city’s political and police leadership.
For example on December 3, after a Staten Island grand jury ruled not to indict NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of Eric Garner, a user on the 1 Police Plaza network made multiple edits, visible here and here, to the “Death of Eric Garner” Wikipedia entry.
Lines like “Garner raised both his arms in the air” was changed to “Garner flailed his arms about as he spoke. “Push Garner's face into the sidewalk” was changed to “push Garner's head down into the sidewalk. Use of the chokehold has been prohibited” was changed to “Use of the chokehold is legal, but has been prohibited.”
The word “chokehold” was replaced twice, once to “chokehold or headlock,” and once to “respiratory distress.”
The NYPD is apparently investigating the claim that its officers are now trying to re-write history, but we would not hold our breath on this one.
