SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO) — Sioux Falls police say they caught word of Wednesday night’s large abortion rights protest days earlier through private social media messaging. Such online posts can be valuable to law enforcement when it comes to keeping the public safe. But social media can also be a double-edged sword when it comes to crowd control.
Police say the social media chatter leading up to Wednesday’s protest was sending mixed signals as far as the intent behind the demonstration.
“Some called for a peaceful march down Phillips Avenue on the sidewalk in full compliance with authorities and rules. Others called for, was entitled, an overthrow protest,” Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum said Wednesday night.
Police say that mixed messaging made it difficult for them to gauge the potential size of the crowd and the number of officers they would need to dispatch to the scene.
“We know that the crowd grew substantially from the beginning toward the end and I would have to believe that social media played a part in that,” Sam Clemens of the Sioux Falls Police Department said.
Social media can help law enforcement long after the fact. Investigators can check for photos and other posts for evidence that can lead to arrests later on.
“Pictures are out there. Video is out there and we can go through that stuff and identify people, we can identify crimes they were involved in,” Clemens said.
Cell phones are as common as protest signs during demonstrations in this social media age. They can serve as a recruiting tool to swell crowds to their cause, while giving police valuable intel to keep city streets safe.
Clemens says evidence collected through social media helped lead to arrests connected to the social justice protest that led to rioting in Sioux Falls two years ago.