UPDATE
Mar 27, 2024 3:30 AM CDT
So much for the Murrieta PD's novel way of adhering to California's new law that placed strict guidelines on the posting of suspect photos related to nonviolent crimes. The department had been superimposing Lego heads over the heads of suspects, but the toy company is now asking the cops to cut it out, the AP reports. A lieutenant says Lego "respectfully asked us to refrain from using their intellectual property in our social media content, which, of course, we understand and will comply with." The department is exploring other ways to post the content in an "engaging and interesting" way, he says.
Mar 21, 2024 2:07 PM CDT
Scroll through the social media feeds of the police department in Murrieta, California, and a strange thing emerges—many of the suspects pictured bear an uncanny resemblance to one another. It seems the department makes it a habit to photoshop Lego heads onto the photos of actual human subjects, reports ABC7. In an online explanation this week, the department says a new law went into effect this year that restricts the posting of suspect photos in regard to nonviolent crimes. The Legos alternative, however, is a departmental choice.
"It's just a little fun to get some attention," Lt. Jeremy Durrant tells the ABC station. The Sacramento Bee notes that the department actually started posting the Lego heads before the law went into effect. "The Murrieta Police Department prides itself in its transparency with the community, but also honors everyone's rights and protections as afforded by law; even suspects," the MPD said in a statement. (More police stories.)
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