THE social media hate page that targeted a Ballarat police officer has been taken down, less than a week after possible legal action was threatened by the Police Association.
The Facebook page, which displayed threatening and abusive posts about a Ballarat Highway Patrol officer, was removed by Facebook during the week.
It had existed for more than two years, with people posting abusive comments as recently as last month.
Victoria Police formally requested Facebook remove the page on Monday.
A police spokesperson said police believed it had already been removed before this week.
Police Association secretary Greg Davies, who earlier in the week hit out at Facebook for not taking the page down, welcomed the decision to remove it.
Mr Davies had earlier lashed out at Facebook and its previous reluctance to take down the page.
He said Facebook had shown little willingness to act upon requests and said if it was not taken down, legal action could have been the next step.
The page included derogatory comments about the officer and photographs taken through a window of a fast-food restaurant showing the officer off duty.
People posting on the page expressed anger at being “booked” by the officer, with some describing him as a “dog” and another calling for “lead through his head”.
“We are pleased the management have seen the damage caused by the page and took the steps to take it down,” Mr Davies said.
Facebook and Victoria Police declined to comment.
patrick.nolan@fairfaxmedia.com.au