A woman, Marta Sala Font, heard some noise over her house at 2am, so she tweeted at the Metropolitan police: "Why are u flying over east london at 2am? It's completely unnecessary to b that noisy at this time. I doubt u can see anything!"
In the reply, the MPS Helicopters account included a full stop before their tweet, making it appear in the timeline for their 91,000 followers.
.@ausetana Not sure if searching for a stabbing victim and firearms suspects is unnecessary, but apologies if you were disturbed.
So people started to reply. First, she was accused of being ignorant.
@MPSinthesky @ausetana Well let’s hope it’s not your family member or loved one there trying to help
@MPSinthesky @ausetana I love the gall of a keyboard warrior. Just wait til they are burgled, don't make too much noise apprehending suspect
@MPSinthesky @ausetana haven't you heard - criminals don't go to bed at 10pm. Oh & there's night vision & heat seeking technology too.
Or drunk.
@ausetana @MPSinthesky what an embarrassing tweet; drunk or trolling for sure. Keep up the great work keeping London safe @MPSinthesky
And then the mood changed.
@ausetana @MPSinthesky what a selfish little twat what us your address?
@MPSinthesky @ausetana arrogant and ignorant thing to tweet! I live in Hackney, have done so all my life. I'd guess @ausetana hasn't?
@MPSinthesky @ausetana that has to be the dumbest tweet I've ever seen!
@MPSinthesky let's see how many of the 90k disagree with @ausetana funny feeling it will be 89999!! Earplugs available from most good shops!
And then Marta decided to leave Twitter after two years, probably because of the abuse she got.
But this isn't the only time this has happened. Sarah Buckley wrote a sarcastic tweet just before midnight when she heard the helicopters in the sky.
Turn it in, chaps, I've got a presentation to give tomorrow @MPSinthesky #tooting
The Met's response, again, was public, and generated over 500 retweets. It was also retweeted by six other official police Twitter accounts.
.@Sarah_Buckley sorry to have disturbed you Sarah, I hope the chap with the knife we found hiding wasn't behind your shed. @MPSWandsworth
And so the pile-on began.
.@MPSinthesky @Sarah_Buckley @MPSWandsworth hahahaha #OWNED #BOWDOWNBITCHES
@Sarah_Buckley @MPSinthesky Oh dear, your self importance is showing!
@Sarah_Buckley @MPSinthesky Stupid stuck up cow!! Perhaps when you are in trouble they will ground the whole fleet! IDIOT!!!! #TOFFEENOSED
When asked whether the force was acting irresponsibly, the Met said of Marta: "Well, maybe they decided that social media was not for them."
A dry day expected today, wind dying down later, enjoy the sunny spells (shh rain showers tomorrow!) #London
H/T to Anya, who compiled this here.