Russ Racop - January 24, 2021
On or about November 17, 2020 LRPD posted this on their Facebook and Twitter feeds.
The problem with this post about Owen having been in the OK Program is that he never was and is in fact a convicted felon.
The man pictured in the fake post is Owen Chandler Blake, a twenty-three year old man that was never a participant in the OK Program according to sources in the OK Program of Little Rock.
Blake was arrested and charged with residential burglary (felony) and criminal mischief back in September 2019.
Blake accepted a negotiated guilty plea and was placed on probation.
Blake was given the mask by a former LRPD officer that was involved in the OK Program. Blake has a younger brother that did participate in the program and that is his only connection to it.
Having or wearing an OK Program mask does not signify involvement with the program.
We attempted to find out how LRPD came in possession of the photos or who removed it but the city and LRPD ignored our requests for records.
LRPD frequently makes copaganda posts like this.
Copaganda typically encompasses things like fictionalized, positive TV depictions of police officers,
heartfelt social media posts made by police departments, and videos of
cops kneeling with anti-police brutality protestors; it is all the media
made in an effort to show police as being uncomplicatedly friendly,
heroic, and good. But these one-dimensional displays actually do harm by
presenting cops as being solely friends
and allies to the public at-large, rather than offering a truthful
depiction of the deeply violent and racist nature of police work in
America.
We also filed a complaint in the event a LRPD cop was involved as their own policies forbid them hanging out with felons.
LRPD often refuses to provide records which results in our filing a AFOIA Denial of Rights lawsuit and having a judge order them to turn over the records.
We have several of these lawsuits going on now with more to follow as soon as the courts open back up.
