Modern society is rife with the ups and downs of technological advancement. As quickly as technology improves and updates, many institutions are slow in the uptake. About 75% of Americans in the workforce don’t believe they have access to the latest efficiency-boosting technologies currently available. Whether or not they know what those technologies are is a completely different argument.
The internet, followed swiftly by social media, has brought access to our fingertips that a mere 20 years ago we couldn’t have fathomed. Now, according to the Pew Research Center, nine out of 10 American adults use the internet. This access paves the way for some interesting encounters.
This happened a couple weeks ago when Washington State’s Richland Police Department posted the photo of a wanted man on their Facebook, asking the public to report any information on the man in question. It’s a stretch for a social media request, but Richland Police Department faithfully posts similar photos every week in a series called Wanted Wednesday. Now, in the last two years, the vast majority of brands’ social media campaigns have failed. It’s a tough platform to work from, even tougher when you’re law enforcement.
The Richland Police Department was met with an unlikely response to the wanted post. The wanted post was for 38-year-old Anthony Ayers, who had violated his probation. Shortly after the post went live, Ayers himself responded:
“Calm down, I’m going to turn myself in.”
Marking the unusual behavior of the humorously social media savvy fugitive, his response sparked days of tongue-in-cheek, back-and-forth conversation between Ayers and the Police Department. After several days, Ayers still hadn’t turned himself when he promised to after he tied up a few loose ends.
“Is it us? We waited, but you didn’t show…The weekend came and went. We are beginning to think you are not coming,” the Police department retorted, clearly hurt that Ayers hadn’t been a man of his word.
He responded lengthily about having commitment issues and thanked them for their patience, leaving a postscript telling them “you’re beautiful.” A day after that, Ayers took a blurry selfie while buzzing into the Police station, finally on the way to turning himself in. Over the previous several days, the exchange between Ayers and the Police Department gained thousands of followers in what appeared to be an almost heart warming moment in law enforcement.
“Pushing the button. Yes, a bit later than planned but ehre and going in. Thank you RPD for letting me do this on my own,” he posted with the picture of him entering the station.
Ayers knew he’d probably be held in prison for a month and let everyone who was following know that he’d see them after his jail time was up. Interestingly, a man wanted for failing to comply with the terms of his probation complied with a Police Department Facebook request asking for his whereabouts. You truly never know what will work these days.
