The 2019 “police officer of the year” in the City of Cleveland is under investigation after multiple antisemitic and pro-Hitler social media posts were brought to light by a watchdog organization.
The posts allegedly contain support for Hitler and Hamas and contain offensive anti-Jewish tropes and conspiracy theories.
The Cleveland police’s internal affairs department is investigating the officer, Ismail Quran, for “inappropriate social media content,” the Washington Free Beacon was told by a Cleveland police department spokesperson on Monday.
Canary Mission, an online antisemitism watchdog group, detailed that Quran’s posts include a "salute to Hitler the great" and messages threatening violence against Jewish people. They also repeat antisemitic conspiracy theories. A 2014 tweet claimed that “the Jewish lobby” ran “the USA” while another tweet from 2014 claimed that Hamas was “merely defending their land.”
He also allegedly posted a tweet in July 2014 that included a photo captioned "LET ME SALUTE TO HITLER THE GREAT. He said ‘I would have killed all the Jews of the world, but I kept some to show the world why I killed them.’"
Another tweet stated that "Jews run the world" and claimed "ISIS = Israeli Secret Intelligence Unit."
Quran was hired in 2018 by the Cleveland police department, around four years after many of the tweets were posted.
In November 2021, Quran was given the 2019 officer of the year award in November 2021. The department celebrated his award with the statement: "Officer Ismail Quran has truly embodied the community policing philosophy for the Cleveland Division of Police."
Over a year earlier, Canary Mission published evidence of Quran’s antisemitic posts on its website.
"We initially released Ismail Quran’s profile in January 2019. His large number of antisemitic posts were severe and all posted after Quran had completed his first Police Officer Physical Agility Exam," Canary Mission said in a statement. "We were already concerned that the Cleveland Police Department employed an officer with a record of antisemitic hate speech. However, we are shocked and dismayed that the Cleveland Police Department honored Quran later that same year."
Quran has been "assigned to administrative duties" while the investigation takes place.