NYPD's Twitter campaign backfires

Jolie Lee

USA TODAY Network

A police lieutenant swings his baton at Occupy Wall Street activists in New York on May 1, 2012. This photo is among the many put on Twitter in response to a New York Police Department request for Twitter users to share pictures of themselves posing with police officers.

The New York Police Department's callout for people to tweet photos with the city's police officers has backfired.

Instead, some tweeters have used the hashtag #myNYPD to post photos of police brutality.

@Nycresistance posted a photo of a man and woman lying on the ground with two officers pulling on their legs, tweeting, "Police help couple do yoga with proper form."

@OccupyWallStreetNYC tweeted, "Need a lift? The #NYPD's got you! Free Delivery, Only at #myNYPD," and posted a photo of four officers carrying a man.

NYPD Deputy Chief Kim Royster said in a statement, "The NYPD is creating new ways to communicate effectively with the community. Twitter provides an open forum for an uncensored exchange and this is an open dialogue good for our city," according to multiple news outlets.USA TODAY Network has reached out to NYPD for comment.

Not all of the photos associated with hashtag #myNYPD were negative. Some featured people smiling next to officers.

The NYPD campaign is reminiscent of McDonald's #McStories campaign in 2012. Tweeters took the opportunity to bash the fast-food chain via social media.

Follow @JolieLeeDC on Twitter.

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