Tech-savvy Calgary constable saves the day by taking over Twitter duties

CALGARY – Amid the chaos and turmoil of a full-scale disaster, a social-media-savvy Calgary police constable stepped in to save the day.

As Calgary was coping with mass evacuations caused by rain-induced flooding Thursday, the city’s police department was doing its best to keep the public informed with non-stop tweets.

But late in the day, Twitter informed the department it had exceeded its daily allotment of tweets and had frozen the account.

That’s when Const. Jeremy Shaw of the Digital Communications Unit stepped up, taking over Twitter chores for the entire department.

He spread the word on evacuations and notifications, aided by the word being spread by followers and supporters such as the Saskatoon police department.

Before long, Twitter realized the problem error and restored the police department’s account.