Cleveland 'Officer of the Year' under investigation over alleged antisemitic social media posts

A Cleveland police officer who was once recognized as officer of the year is under investigation after he was accused of glorifying Adolf Hitler and spreading antisemitism in old social media posts that have resurfaced.

The internal affairs unit of the Cleveland Division of Police and an ethics officer began investigating Officer Ismail Quran after the department was made aware of "inappropriate social media content," a police spokesperson said Tuesday.

"The City of Cleveland, Division of Police insists that officers provide the highest levels of professionalism and respect to all citizens," a police statement read. "Discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated."

Quran was moved to administrative duties. He could not be reached at phone numbers listed for him and the police union did not immediately return a request for comment.

The alleged social media posts were dug up by Canary Mission, which documents people and organizations that spread hatred against Jewish people. Quran either deleted the posts — which date back to 2012 — or made them private.

Screenshots of the posts were published online by Canary Mission. The Cleveland Division of Police confirmed to NBC News that its investigation is of the social media content posted by Canary Mission.

In one Twitter post from July 14, 2014, Quran allegedly wrote, "f--- that Jew," in response to NBA player Patrick Beverley wishing good luck to Omri Casspi, an Israeli who used to play professional basketball.

According to Canary Mission, Quran's tweet included a picture of Hilter with the caption: "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.'"

In another post from 2015, he allegedly tweeted: "Lol bum a-- Jew tried to intimidate me…don’t try that s--- with me."

In others, he is accused of referring to Jewish people as "scumbag" and "bums," according to the screenshots.

Canary Mission said it first went public with Quran's tweets in 2019, about six months after being hired.

"The profile included numerous instances of severe antisemitism, all posted after Quran had completed his first Police Officer Physical Agility Exam," the organization said in a statement.

Last year, the police department awarded Quran as the 2019 Officer of the Year saying at an awards ceremony that he was an "invaluable" member of the police department because he speaks multiple languages and was "instrumental" during "volatile situations where language barriers were present."

It's not clear if the department was made aware of his alleged posts at the time of the ceremony. The Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association dismissed the allegations, telling Cleveland.com that the officer is an asset.

'These Tweets are from over a decade ago," president Jeff Follmer told the news outlet. "It doesn’t represent the amazing police officer that he is."

Canary Mission called on Mayor Justin Bibb and other officials to "remove such a dangerous antisemite from his duty." Bibb’s office could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.