March 7, 2012

Detective Joseph Murray’s last tweet.



A growing number of West Philly residents are trying to get “The Fuzz” back online.

Resident Amara Rockar has started an online petition aimed at persuading police Commissioner Charles Ramsey to allow Detective Joseph Murray to start tweeting again. Murray’s Twitter account, which has provided timely updates on crime and public safety for several years, has been offline since Jan. 11.

“Detective Murray’s use of Twitter is exactly the kind of useful and positive police-community interaction that the Philadelphia Police Department should encourage, not silence,” the petition reads. “Please approve his Social Media use under his official title immediately so that his updates to our community may resume.”

Murray’s Twitter account fell victim to the police department’s skittishness about its officers using social media publicly.

Murray’s updates on crime were invaluable for citizen awareness.