'Stupid is as stupid does:' Police get complaint for 'Forrest Gump' quote about suspects caught stealing hubcaps off cop car
WARWICK, R.I. -- A Rhode Island police department is reviewing its policy on using Facebook after a complaint about a quote from the movie "Forrest Gump" that was included in announcing an arrest.
Warwick police arrested an 18-year-old and a juvenile Sunday on the department's parking lot on misdemeanor charges that the two were taking hubcaps off a marked police car and trying to steal equipment.
WJAR-TV reports that police posted a mugshot of the older teen on the department's Facebook page with the quote, "Stupid is as stupid does," a line from the movie.
The suspect's brother told the television station that police shouldn't have called his brother stupid.
The department removed the photo and replaced the quote with "You can't make this stuff up."
Police tell WPRO-AM they're reviewing the policy.
The Facebook post reads:
"In the interest of not besmirching a young man for his mistake, the picture and jocularity has been removed-thanks to a few rational comments from our FB friends concerning professionalism. However the story remains the same.
You can't make this stuff up.
Last night at 7 pm, Det Sgt Fred Pierce and Det Pat McGaffigan return to the station in their unmarked detective car and notice two suspicious males in an around vehicles parked in the front lot. After watching them, they approached finding them in their discretely parked car in the lot. Their investigation, which was very quick, led to arrests of Shawn Bartis, 18 yoa, and a 17 yoa juvenile, both from Warwick, for Larceny and Tampering with an Automobile. They stole the hubcaps and were attempting to steal the siren control box and the spotlight from a marked police car parked in the lot!"