The Reason Behind Baltimore Police Deactivating Korryn Gaines’s Facebook Account Before Shooting Her
Yesterday we told you about a standoff in Baltimore that resulted in the killing of 23-year-old Korryn Gaines. During the shooting, Gaines’s five-year-old son, Kodi, was shot in the arm and is now receiving treatment at Johns Hopkins Children's Hospital, yet he is expected to make a full recovery.
During the standoff that lasted several hours, Gaines recorded several videos documenting the interaction she had with police. The videos were posted to her Facebook page as well as her Instagram account.
Moments before the police opened fire against Gaines, law enforcement officials ordered that her social media pages be deactivated. When details of the shooting first emerged, many believed that the videos and posts made by Gaines were permanently deleted; however, the police claim that they were preserved as evidence.
The Baltimore Police released a statement addressing the deactivation of her social media accounts:
“On-scene command staff filed a request with Facebook during the barricade to deactivate Gaines' Facebook and Instagram accounts in order to preserve the integrity of negotiations with her and for the safety of Gaines, her child and officers. Gaines was posting video of the operation, and followers were encouraging her not to comply with negotiators' requests that she surrender peacefully. This was a serious concern; successful negotiations often depend on the negotiators' ability to converse directly with the subject, without interference or distraction during extremely volatile conditions. The content on Gaines' social media accounts has not been deleted. BCoPD has filed a request with Facebook to preserve this content as evidence. A search warrant will be obtained to obtain these records. Law enforcement officials do not have the ability or authority to deactivate social media accounts on their own. Facebook maintains a law enforcement portal through which police request assistance.”
Although the police claim the videos and posts are being used for evidence, many feel that law enforcement officials had different intentions. Some believe that the social media accounts were deactivated in an effort to hide certain facts or perpetuate a specific storyline.
Several of her videos still exist online because many people saved and shared the recordings in order to properly document the incident.