NEW YORK—A request by the New York City Police Department has backfired — in a very public way.

Its request that Twitter users share pictures of them posing with police officers has caused people to start sending in photos of police brutality.

The NYPD sent a tweet on Tuesday, saying it might feature the photographs on its Facebook page.

The responses soon turned ugly when Occupy Wall Street tweeted a photograph of cops battling protesters with the caption “changing hearts and minds one baton at a time.”

Other photos included an elderly man bloodied after being arrested for jaywalking.

Some respondents did send in the type of police-friendly photographs officials were hoping to get.

NYPD spokeswoman Kim Royster says the uncensored and open dialogue was good for the city.

NYPD Commissioner William Bratton admitted that he was caught off guard by the harsh response but said he had no plans to abandon social media.

Experts questioned Wednesday how the NYPD didn’t anticipate the potential public relations debacle.

One said other large organizations have seen hashtags become “bashtags.”

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