CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A recently promoted Cleveland police officer is under fire from a local Islamic civil rights group for what they say are "racist and Anti-Muslim" social media posts on his personal account.

The Cleveland Council on American-Islamic Relations is calling for an internal investigation into Sgt. Frank Woyma's posts on Twitter, arguing they violate the Cleveland police department's social media policy.

Woyma, hired by the department in 1996, was one of 40 officers promoted among the department's leadership ranks in a Monday morning ceremony in Cleveland City Hall chambers.

Several posts on Woyma's Twitter account, @2495Blast, are supportive of law enforcement and not inflammatory. But his account also contains a string of retweets that the Cleveland Council on American-Islamic Relations consider anti-Muslim.

Many of the posts are critical of President Barack Obama, take issue with protesters who are calling for the removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina Statehouse and the "mainstream media."

One tweet Woyma re-posted contains an image of an armored knight hoisting a sword and shield on horseback, with the words "I will turn back the Muslim hordes. I will protect America at all cost. There will be no Sharia Law here."

The tweet links to a website with articles including "Road Raging Muslim forgets he's in Texas, gets taste of Southern Hospitality, CAIR cries hate crime." The article references the fatal shooting of a Muslim man during an argument on a Texas highway.

"While Sergeant Woyma is re-tweeting racist and anti-Muslim materials on a private account, his clearly bigoted views can only serve to cast a negative light on the Cleveland Division of Police and harm relations with the community he is supposed to serve and protect," CAIR president Julia Shearson said in a press release.

By 4 p.m. Wednesday, Woyma's tweets were hidden from public view.

Woyma was sued in 2006, after a group of people said he smashed a beer bottle over an Elyria man's head while working off-duty security in the Warehouse District.

The city paid the man $25,000 just days before the case was set to go to civil trial.

Northeast Ohio Media Group asked city officials Tuesday to explain the reasoning behind promoting Woyma and officer Daniel Jopek.

Jopek was charged with reckless homicide after a 2003 shooting was ruled unjustified, though a grand jury declined to indict him.

The city did not respond to Tuesday's request, or a second request for comment Wednesday morning.

The department's social media policy prohibits officers from posting comments that would "reasonably tend to diminish the esteem of the Division of Police or its personnel in the eyes of the public."

Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association President Steve Loomis declined to discuss CAIR's accusations specifically.

"We support the First Amendment rights of every American," Loomis said.

CAIR's call comes as the department is fighting a federal civil-rights lawsuit brought by Cleveland police Sgt. Johnny Hamm, who was disciplined after posting messages of support for fellow officers after Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty's announcement that a grand jury had indicted six officers in connection with the Nov. 29, 2012 police chase and fatal shooting of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams.

A judge last week ruled the officer's suit could proceed.

Cleveland police spokesman Lt. Ali Pillow said internal investigators were not aware of Woyma's posts until a Northeast Ohio Media Group reporter asked about them Wednesday morning.

Pillow said no formal complaint had been filed as of Wednesday afternoon, although the Office of Professional Standards could launch an investigation without a complaint.