The New York Police Department attempted to harness Twitter to drum up support today, but things haven't exactly gone as planned. Earlier today, the official NYPD Twitter account asked followers to tweet photos of themselves with NYC police officers under the hashtag #myNYPD — but so far, many users have jumped on that hashtag to flood it with images of police aggressively apprehending apparent suspects. So far, these are hardly the friendly images the NYPD was hoping for.

Do you have a photo w/ a member of the NYPD? Tweet us & tag it #myNYPD. It may be featured on our Facebook. pic.twitter.com/mE2c3oSmm6 — NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) April 22, 2014

NYPD officers are known worldwide for their timely and hands-on response to citizen grievances. pic.twitter.com/wuJ8uicGgE #myNYPD — Stop The Wars (@sickjew) April 22, 2014

While it's hard to say if the force used in many of the pictures tagged with the #myNYPD hashtag is justified or not, the overall sentiment is clearly one in defense of citizens against an overly brutal police presence. Either way, there's little doubt that the anti-police co-opting of the #myNYPD hashtag is picking up mainstream attention — it's one of the top trending items on Twitter right now. It's a lesson in social media that the department is likely not to forget anytime soon. We've reached out to the NYPD to see if they have any comment on their Twitter campaign.

You might not have known this, but the NYPD can help you with that kink in your neck. #myNYPD pic.twitter.com/fzUok1FWXG — Cocky McSwagsalot (@MoreAndAgain) April 22, 2014