A PSNI Facebook post which appears to boast about a fictional republican character being shot has been described as “ill judged and wholly inappropriate”.
The post appeared on a Facebook page managed by the PSNI in Craigavon, Co Armagh, last month.
It appears to focus on a fictional character created by police known as “Dissident Dan” - a stickman who wears a balaclava.
The PSNI in Craigavon first used the character on social media earlier this year.
However, concerns have been raised after police posted a picture of a bullet riddled firing range target called ‘Dan’ earlier this month.
The target included a picture of a man holding a gun is believed to have been used during weapons training.
A message from an officer believed to have taken part in the training said: “This is 'Dan'. He was my 'training partner' a couple of days ago and as you can see...he didn't have a great day...."
During the Troubles several people in the north Armagh area were shot dead in alleged shoot-to-kill operations involving the police and British army. Inquests into some of the killings have still to be completed.
In a separate post a few days later several ‘Dissident Dan’ stickmen wearing balaclavas appeared beside a message confirming 58 arrests had been made in connection with two un-notified republican parades earlier this year and rioting which also broke out in March.
Craigavon SDLP councillor Joe Nelson, who is also a member of the local Policing and Community Safety Partnership, said he would raise the matter with senior police branding the posts "ill judged and wholly inappropriate".
“North Lurgan is a very sensitive area and that type of editorial free reign is something I would want to take up with the PSNI, how is the stuff that goes on their social media vetted.”
The SDLP councillor added: “That’s not to detract from the good work they do through social media but sometimes in a post like that you would have to question how well thought out it was.”
The PSNI last night said more than 576,000 people follow it on social media.
Chief Inspector Jon Burrows said several officers were involved in managing the Craigavon Facebook account.
“We are not just police officers, we are humans too and, as humans we make mistakes. Sometime our message or tone may not appeal to everyone, sometimes it may even offend however this is never our intention.
“Our intention is always to inform, engage and listen. We monitor comments and feedback on our social media posts and take suggestions, advice and feedback into consideration for future posts”.
He added that “Dissident Dan” was a fictional character and "an inanimate object”. “They are not real people" he said.
