A San Francisco police officer is being investigated by SFPD’s Internal Affairs Division for possible misconduct after tweeting he’d gotten revenge on a man who allegedly insulted his mother.
In a March 15 tweet, Sgt. Adam Plantinga said he saw a man peeing in public about a year ago and told him to knock it off, the man responded with some “choice words” about the officer’s mother and cursed at him, according to Plantinga’s tweet.
“Saw him today and ran a wanted check. Behold, a felony warrant. So now he’s in the clink …,” the tweet added.
About a year ago, I saw a guy peeing in public and told him to knock it off. He cursed me out, including some choice words about my mother. I tucked that away for future reference. Saw him today and ran a wanted check. Behold, a felony warrant. So now he's in the clink…. 1/2
— Adam Plantinga (@AdamPlantinga) March 16, 2023
San Francisco police confirmed the incident referenced in Plantinga’s tweet, and said officers detained a 42-year-old suspect and took him to jail for alleged possession of drug paraphernalia and an out-of-county warrant for attempted grand theft, the department said.
“Say what you want about me, but you malign my mother, and it’s on. Kathleen Fay Plantinga is a light in this world,” Plantinga said in a follow-up tweet.
The tweet divided public opinion in the replies below, with some bird app users questioning the officer’s motives, while others seemed to think the arrest was “karma.”
Sgt. Ryan Jensen of Internal Affairs confirmed Plantinga is under investigation for misconduct, but said that no misconduct has been proved yet and the investigation will take one year to conclude.
“I’m just starting to gather as much evidence as I can,” Jensen said. “There’s no misconduct yet.”
In addition to writing provocative tweets, Plantinga has authored two nonfiction books on policing and has served as an officer in the city for over 13 years, according to his website. He told The Standard in March he is set to release a new novel in January next year.
“This was a lawful, in-policy warrant arrest of a known criminal,” Plantinga said.