Police Warn Trolls Who Mock Criminal’s Receding Hairline That They Could Face Legal Action

British police have issued a warning to trolls who poked fun at a criminal’s receding hairline after the man’s mugshot was posted online. Police in the city of Gwent shared a photo of Jermaine Taylor, who was wanted on drug dealing charges, on their Facebook page in the hopes that someone who knew or had seen him would come forward. Instead, the post went viral for a completely different reason: people were roasting Taylor’s hairline.

1. To be fair, some of the comments were really funny. Is it okay to make fun of someone’s appearance? Not particularly. Were the comments on this post hilarious? Pretty much. Probably the best one-liner read: “Push his release date back further than his hair line, that should teach him.” Another clever commenter added: “He was last seen in town; Police are combing the area.” LOL!
2. Unfortunately, Gwent police didn’t find it funny. The post eventually garnered more than 89,000 comments, leading police to issue a warning for those who thought it was a place to tell jokes rather than share legitimate tips to help find Taylor. In a follow-up message, they reminded users that language that could be seen as abusive, harassing, or threatening would be investigated by authorities. Oops!
3. Just because you’re online doesn’t mean you can say what you want. “Our advice is to be as careful on social media as you would in any other form of communication. If you say something about someone which is grossly offensive or is of an indecent, obscene or menacing character, then you could be investigated by the police,” Gwent police said in a statement, as reported by The Guardian. That’s right, that “harmless” joke could get you into big trouble!
4. All’s well that ends well: Taylor was eventually found. The police aren’t completely humorless and they welcomed their new followers on Facebook, many of whom were overseas but saw the original post and thought it was hilarious. They seem to have had more of a reason to laugh, especially because Taylor was caught. “We’re really grateful to everyone who is assisting us in locating Jermaine Taylor, and we must admit a few of these comments have made us laugh,” the force said in a statement. “However, when the line is crossed from being funny to abusive, we do have to make sure we are responsible and remind people to be careful about what they write on social media.”