Metro Councilman Brandon Coan was trashed Friday for an anti-litter tweet that offered Louisville law enforcement a steak dinner to write the most citations.

Coan took to social media to boast about his ordinance, which passed this week and creates a civil fine up to $250.

"I will buy a @JeffRubys steak dinner for the @LMPD or any other peace officer who issues the most littering citations between now and the end of the year," Coan said via Twitter.

Coan, whose 8th District makes up the bulk of the Highlands, also later asked followers for more ideas to "sweeten the pot" for officers to give out more fines.

But the call was met with a swift backlash from some residents who argued Coan was giving police an unnecessary motivation that would result in targeting poorer communities.

Friday headlines:Traffic stops will continue in areas with high crime, chief says, but under new guidelines

Among the loudest critics on Friday was state Rep. Attica Scott, D-Louisville, who previously served on the Metro Council.

"No, councilman, encouraging or giving incentives for competitive policing is dangerous for some of us," she tweeted at Coan. "In reality, that kind of policing will hurt neighborhoods like mine, not yours; people who look like me, not you."

Scott told the Courier Journal on Friday that Coan's message was "tone deaf" amid a larger debate about how minority communities feel overpoliced.

Last month, the Courier Journal reported about a controversial police stop of a black teenager for making a wide turn in a West End neighborhood.

The story:LMPD handcuffed black teen for wide turn, then said 'quit with the attitude'

The teen, Tae-Ahn Lea, was pulled from his car and handcuffed while the vehicle was searched by a police dog and officers. No contraband was found, and there is an internal investigation into the stop.

On Friday, Police Chief Steve Conrad announced the traffic stop policy would be changed to severely restrict the practice of removing motorists from their cars.

Scott said Coan should have known better amid these conversations than to use an incentive to encourage competition among officers that would lead to more aggressive enforcement.

"In this case, it seemed to me the councilman could have been a lot more aware and conscious and decided that, even if he was joking or being flippant, that when it comes to policing, we can't afford to joke," she said.

"So much about this tweet was so wrong and misguided for someone who is a public servant, I think he should delete the tweet," Scott added.

Coan later apologized after Scott's messages and a series of responses slammed his initial post.

"I apologize," he tweeted Friday. "This was a poor choice to make my point about the new littering law."

Coan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Others who took to social media agreed with Scott and took Coan to task.

"I am one of your constituents," attorney Joanne Lynch tweeted. "Did you give even a half second of thought to this before tweeting?"

Activist Shelton McElroy, who works with the No Bail Project, which advocates for eliminating cash bonds, suggested the councilman consider alternatives to help clean up city streets.

"Why not create jobs that reduce litter and employ people that might otherwise be unemployed like housing insecure individuals," he tweeted.

But local businessman Dan Borsch agreed with Coan's message and offered his own incentive to crack down on litterbugs.

"I’ll raise your offer and give the @LMPD officer a free meal every week for a year at Burger Boy Diner," he tweeted.

Reporter Phillip M. Bailey can be reached at 502-582-4475 or pbailey@courier-journal.com Darcy Costello: 502-582-4834; dcostello@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @dctello. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/darcyc.