A Rockland County police department is facing ridicule after it was discovered that the officer photos on its official website were actually stock images that came preloaded with the web design software.
The Stony Point Police Department’s “Our Officers” page — now taken down — featured six supposed officer profiles that turned out to be generic pictures used on multiple law enforcement websites across the country.
The mistake came to light when a viewer tipped off News12 Westchester, pointing out that one of the supposed officers was clearly a stock photo. “I knew it was fake because the same image shows up on another police website,” the tipster said. The department reportedly has several Hispanic officers but no Black officers, despite one being shown on the site.
A News12 review confirmed that the same six officer profiles appear on numerous police department websites, including one in Lockport, Louisiana. One of the fictional officers, “Deputy Sheriff Adam Duncan,” appeared on at least eight different websites.
Steven Franzken, owner of Mid-Hudson Web in Dutchess County, explained that the duplication happened because the department’s web designer failed to replace the default images. “The software comes with a template that includes sample photos,” Franzken said. “The fact that they didn’t change them is very amateur and misleading.”
Local resident Maryann Albin defended the department, saying the error likely wasn’t their fault. “The police have enough to deal with — the developer should be held accountable,” she said.
Stony Point police have not yet issued a statement on the mix-up.