Taylor Swift song puts sheriff’s sergeant in hot water
Decision to play diva’s song on cellphone as others videotaped him leads to internal affairs investigation
An Alameda County Sheriff’s Office sergeant leaned on social media rules in an attempt to keep video of him taken by protesters outside an Oakland courthouse off YouTube and other social media platforms.
Instead, his actions caused the video to go viral, and now he finds himself in trouble.
“Yeah, it’s really not a good look,” Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly said by phone Friday, referring to video of a sergeant playing a Taylor Swift song as others videotaped him.
YouTube and other social media platforms have copyright filters that can shut down videos or streams because of the background music, which the deputy hoped would happen to the video of him.
Authorities citing policy have not identified the sergeant, but video of the incident identifies him as Sgt. David Shelby.
The Anti-Police Terror Project posted video of the Tuesday interaction Thursday. It did not immediately return messages left with it by this news organization Friday.
Swift has not commented on the situation on any of her social media platforms.
“It’s unacceptable,” Kelly said. “It’ll be going to internal affairs. It’s not a trend within our office. It’s not something we feel is occurring. … He’s very remorseful. The backlash that he’s received personally has been extraordinary. I’ve seen officers go through that, when they become the target of social media. It’s not a fun place to be. He let the moment get the better of him.”
The interaction happened as protesters gathered in support of Steven Taylor, a 33-year-old man killed by San Leandro police in April 2020 as he wielded a baseball bat in a Walmart.
Former San Leandro police Officer Jason Fletcher will stand trial on manslaughter charges. Alameda County prosecutors charged Fletcher, arguing that the officer did not attempt to de-escalate the confrontation before fatally shooting Taylor once in the chest after using a stun gun on him multiple times.
Fletcher’s preliminary hearing took place Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Tuesday, deputies asked Taylor’s supporters to remove their banners. One person there took cellphone video posted on KTVU’s YouTube channel that shows James Burch, the APTP’s policy director, and the sergeant discussing the matter. In the middle of the conversation, the sergeant pulls out his phone, starts playing Swift’s “Blank Space” and puts the phone between the buttons of his shirt.
The video shows Burch asking the sergeant if he’s having a dance party, and another protester asks if he’s “trying to drown out the conversation?”
“You can record all you want,” the sergeant replies. “I just know it can’t be posted to YouTube.”
“Obviously in our world, we have an oath to uphold the First Amendment, not to trigger censorship of the First Amendment. And that’s what this is about,” Kelly said. “He’s aware he made a terrible mistake. We’re human. He was trying to play a game with the activists, and it went wrong. I can tell you this, too. It doesn’t work. If you try to censor video on YouTube or social media, it’s only going to make that video go viral.”
Kelly said the internal affair investigation will take weeks, emphasizing that the sergeant has the right to due process. Kelly said the sergeant didn’t violate any specific written policy about trying to prevent social media uploads, but that he did not adhere to the agency’s code of conduct policy.
“Is this a terminationtype case? No, it is not,” Kelly said. “Is this a reprimand or something enforced administratively? We’ll have to wait to see.”
Sheriff Gregory Ahern already has reached out to every sworn member in the department to view the video, according to Kelly.
“I really don’t think you’ll see this again,” Kelly said. “The one involved will never do it again. Hopefully, it makes him a better officer. He owns it, and we own it.”