Bartlesville goes dark on social media following online onslaught of negative comments

On Tuesday, the City of Bartlesville and the Bartlesville Police Department temporarily deactivated their official Facebook pages following online outrage over body camera footage showing a grandmother being forcibly arrested.

City officials released the following statement from City Manager Mike Bailey explaining why the city's Facebook pages are offline:

"On Monday evening, we made the decision to temporarily deactivate the City of Bartlesville GOV and Bartlesville Police Department Facebook pages due to an overwhelming number of comments that not only violated our social media policies but in some cases were threatening toward City staff."

"The vast majority of these comments were not coming from Bartlesville residents but rather people from across the U.S. and abroad. Due to the volume of comments that have been incoming since this incident, city staff are unable to monitor the Facebook pages and continue to serve the citizens of Bartlesville, who expect and deserve our prompt and undivided attention."

“We are currently evaluating our social media practices and looking at potential changes that could be implemented that might allow us to better communicate with the public regarding city information. Until that process is concluded, we encourage citizens to continue utilizing our website, www.cityofbartlesville.org, subscribe to our newsletter, City Beat, or reach out by phone or email or visit us at city facilities."

“We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as we navigate these challenges. We anticipate our Facebook pages will be reactivated in the near future.”

What caused the online backlash?

The incident, which occurred Sunday, April 14 , gained widespread attention after body cam video emerged of officers wrestling the woman to the ground after she allegedly eluded police and failed to comply with police commands while attempting to take her granddaughter to the hospital.

A recent YouTube video highlighting the incident appears to have sparked additional outrage, leading to a deluge of comments from outside of the city of Bartlesville. The footage also sparked a backlash on local social media pages, with many criticizing the officers' actions as overly aggressive.

Bartlesville Police Chief Kevin Ickleberry apologized last Thursday for how his officers treated the 53-year-old woman, saying, "Not how we treat our citizens."

Armitage's case is pending and she is charged with attempting to elude a police officer and resisting arrest.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Bartlesville goes dark on social media following online onslaught of negative comments