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Liverpool
UK police staff member leaves force after Twitter 'rape joke' about football match
Both tweets prompted a flood of complaints that the police force would treat sexual assault with such flippancy.
A MEMBER OF Merseyside Police staff in the UK has left the force after a tweet, which appeared to joke about rape, appeared on their official Twitter feed.
The exchange on Twitter happened after local team Everton defeated Sunderland 6-2 at their home ground in Liverpool.
Following the match, a Twitter user tweeted at Merseyside Police that there’d been “an incident of rape” at the ground this afternoon.
The force’s Twitter account responded with this now deleted tweet.
Another exchange followed:
Both tweets prompted a flood of complaints that the police force would treat sexual assault with such flippancy.
Following the incident, Merseyside Police confirmed that a full investigation had been launched into the matter and the “inappropriate use” of the Twitter account.
It’s now believed the member of staff has since left the police force.
The BBC reports that a spokesman for the force said the person was “due to leave the force but decided to go early” after talks.
The police apologised on Twitter after the tweets and said they “do not reflect the strenuous efforts made by Merseyside Police to investigate serious sexual crimes”.
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