Hacker group releases information about Cincinnati Police Department employees

Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac had his personal information released in an Anonymous data dump. (CPD)

Hacking group Anonymous briefly posted online a video detailing the personal information of 52 Cincinnati Police Department employees, including Chief Eliot Isaac, Cincinnati.com reported.

The group said it released the info Sunday night in response to Wednesday’s shooting death of Paul Gaston, a black man, by three white Cincinnati cops. By 4:30 a.m. Monday the video had been taken down, according to WLWT.

“Thin Blue Line, your game is over,” an Anonymous figure said in the video, according to a transcript. “You lost. While we release your officers’ information, we will hold no responsibility of the actions of those that see the information.”

That information included names, ages, street addresses, email addresses and social media accounts, as well as the names and addresses of officers’ family members. It’s unclear if the information was obtained via a data breach or through publicly available sources, Cincinnati Police Lt. Steve Saunders told Cincinnati.com.

The incident that prompted the Anonymous action involved the somewhat contentious details surrounding Gaston’s death. While video of the incident shows Gaston initially on his knees with his hands behind his head as cops approach him, police said he reached toward his waistband for what they believed to be a weapon before they shot him. Video evidence appears to back up the officers’ assertions. After his death, authorities discovered Gaston was carrying a pellet gun designed to look like a real weapon.

Anonymous included footage of the shooting – which police had previously released – as part of its video message.

“For far too long we have sat idle by letting the gang known as the Thin Blue Line murder citizens of United States without allowing them due process,” the video transcript said. “Well, we have a message to not only the Cincinnati Police Department but to every law enforcement officer. When you murder a human being when you have other choices of containing your suspect available, we will make your officers’ information public record.”