Police social media accounts are generally considered some of the worst offenders when it comes to piss-poor memery, but today’s example of a cop account trying to be “down with the kids on the line” may just be the worst.
The official verified New Zealand Police Twitter account posted out this very, very bad idea of a meme-tweet earlier today, combining the ever popular use of a Micheal Scott reaction gif with the line “When we have to tell someone their family member died in a car crash.”
https://twitter.com/nikdirga/status/917212301924589568
For those unaware of the full gif., it looks a bit like this:
Yeeaaaaah so not the best comparison for something as heart-wrenchingly serious as the death of a family member.
After immediate intense backlash, NZ Police took down the tweet and posted an apology:
We apologise for the recent road safety tweet. We quickly realised it was wrong & insensitive & it was immediately deleted. Thx for feedback
— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) October 9, 2017
But thanks to the wonders of a well-timed screenshot, the damage was mostly done:
NZ Police posting this Office gif about people dying, then damage control, is sadly the inevitable result of cops trying to be funny online pic.twitter.com/Vy31VZNrRh
— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) October 9, 2017
This just in: NZ Police has a flippant attitude towards transport violence.
— Non-motorist* (@ByTheMotorway) October 9, 2017
https://twitter.com/reedfleming/status/917241033372479488
https://twitter.com/joshuawalkernz/status/917224493528973312
And not for the first time, the main takeaway from all of this? Never tweet.
Just… don’t tweet, ok?
