Two high-ranking officers have left the Cambridge Police Department in recent months after they were involved in controversial social media incidents in 2020.
CPD spokesperson Jeremy C. Warnick confirmed in an email that former Lieutenant Shawn Lynch is “no longer with the department,” and former Superintendent Jack Albert retired from CPD after 33 years.
Lynch departed CPD following a department investigation into a now-deleted Twitter account which a city resident suspected might belong to Lynch in September 2020. Warnick wrote that CPD determined the account did, in fact, belong to Lynch, but did not specify the terms of his exit.
The account handle carried the lieutenant s name and badge “@CPD496,” and contained posts that seemingly made light of police brutality. For example, a tweet replied to a news article about police brutality with a GIF of applause from actor Will Smith. Another post in reaction to a tweet about the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has called on hundreds of agents from specialized squads and field offices across the country, as its Capitol riot investigation moves to a new level, with attempts to build conspiracy charges against the growing number of suspects.
Wall Street Journal reported that officials are looking through evidence, which includes more than 200,000 digital tips from social media, public members, confidential informants, local news, and surveillance footage.
According to court filings, the probe now includes FBI agents who normally handle other matters such as securities fraud, public corruption, drugs, and gangs.
From Arizona to New York, FBI field offices and officials have made arrests, search homes, and interview witnesses, as well as family members and associates.