Andrew Wyrich, and Lisa Marie Segarra

NorthJersey

A hacker was responsible for posts earlier this week related to the election of Donald Trump on the Facebook page of Montclair Police Benevolent Association Local 53, the group said early Thursday morning.

In the past week, two posts were published as a result of “unauthorized access,” the PBA said. Both posts were deleted from the page as of this morning.

One post on Monday – which was on the Facebook page for the Essex County PBA Conference as of 6 a.m. on Thursday morning, but has since been taken down – is a meme, or a popular Internet image – of a police officer running that says “Guys!! Trump Won!! We Get To Be Cops Again!!!”

The second post, according to News 12 New Jersey, seemed to try to explain the meme, calling it “comical,” but then says “unfortunately it appears that many chose to conclude what THEY believe the post stood for” before listing the number of police officers killed in the line of duty from 2010 to 2016.

“This is where the tragedy lies,” the now deleted post said. “Society could care less of these officers and their families. But a meme post can draw so much attention.”

The PBA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, Montclair Police Chief Todd Conforti released a statement on the incident.

"Last night it was brought to my attention that PBA Local 53’s Facebook page contained a post that was political in nature," Conforti said in a release. "This Facebook page is not overseen or monitored by the Police Department and this particular post does not represent the views of the Montclair Police Department."

Conforti and Mayor Robert Jackson did not immediately respond to telephone calls for additional comments.

The Local 53 page said that administrators had been made aware of the posts and that the password had been changed for the account. The group also said it typically limited posts to “positive events,” like parades.

“Again we apologize for this as never in the past has there been political postings made on this page,” the group wrote. “Our community comes first.”

The post comes as pro-Trump graffiti continues to appear on a local business.

Members of the public have expressed their concerns with the PBA Local 53 post online, and the Montclair Civil Rights Commission has weighed in on the matter.

"The Civil Rights Commission is concerned about the [Facebook] post and the possible motivations behind it -- whoever posted it," CRC Chair Joe Kavesh told The Record. "The CRC has had productive and constructive dialogue with the [MPD] in the past, and we expect that will continue to be the case. We look forward to getting to the bottom of this. The post does not befit Montclair."

Email: wyrich@northjersey.com Twitter: @AndrewWyrich

Email: segarra@northjersey.com Twitter: @lisamarie_lynn