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STL Police officer under fire after old Tweets resurface

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department confirmed one of their officers was behind the Tweets and that an internal investigation is ongoing.

ST. LOUIS — St. Louis city police confirm they're investigating one of their officers, for concerning posts he made on social media.

We already knew about some of the posts, when an investigation first surfaced in June.

But now, there are new comments being shared and the department is taking a closer look.

In one of the Tweets, he calls U.S. Representative Maxine Waters a racial epithet. In another, he said "pop, pop, pop" when asked about the shooting of Vonderrit Myers in 2014.

The officer behind the posts is Officer Bartney Coats, the department confirmed Wednesday.

His twitter handle — @fifty27 — is reportedly the same as his badge number.

This is not the first time the department has had issues with social media activity. In June, St. Louis officers were identified by a national group called "The Plain View Project." That group found posts from them that appeared to endorse violence, racism and bigotry.

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Earlier this year, St. Louis Police Chief Jon Hayden called the posts found by "The Plain View Project" deeply concerning and said the officers could be disciplined.

The punishment could range from re-instruction to possible dismissial if the allegations are confirmed, he said.

As of now, Officer Coats is still on the force.

The department sent us this short statement:

"We are aware of the posts and an internal investigation is being conducted."

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