‘Iowa City Police Log’ to become coffee-table book
For five years, Iowa City resident Chris Patton has curated social-media posts of the daily police log. Now, he’s turning his archive into a book.
File photo
December 1, 2018
“Iowa City Police Log,” a Twitter and Facebook account run by Chris Patton, announced Saturday that the comedic posts based on the Iowa City Police Department’s daily activity log will be turned into a coffee table book.
A tweet posted Saturday at 3:51 p.m. alluded that the account, which has been active since 2013, may be coming to its end.
THE END
— Iowa City Police Log (@IC_ActivityLog) December 1, 2018
An hour later, a series of tweets assured followers Patton’s work is not over, but taking a backseat as he begins work on a book with content from his five-year archive of tweets and Facebook posts.
Don’t worry, friends and followers, this isn’t the end of my police log project, only the first phase of it. Since 2013, I’ve gone through the entirety of the ICPD’s online dispatch log and posted the entries I found interesting here. I won’t be doing that anymore.
— Iowa City Police Log (@IC_ActivityLog) December 1, 2018
Instead, I’m starting the process of making a coffee table book out of the archive I’ve assembled over the last five years. There simply isn’t enough time for me to do both. However, you can rest assured this account will remain active.
— Iowa City Police Log (@IC_ActivityLog) December 1, 2018
As I work on the book over the course of the next year, I’ll be reposting log entries starting from the beginning of my archive. Barely anyone was following this account back then so they’ll actually be new to almost all of you.
— Iowa City Police Log (@IC_ActivityLog) December 1, 2018
This project means a lot to me and I have difficulty expressing how appreciative I am of its fans. Without your engagement, I would never have collected five years of material or thought to turn it into a book. Thank you.
— Iowa City Police Log (@IC_ActivityLog) December 1, 2018
The Twitter account, which has over 7,000 followers, will remain active. The Facebook account, which has over 15,000 likes, will be maintained by Patton’s friend.
PS: The police log Facebook page will continue to post new content, though possibly not as much as before. A friend is helping me out there. Sorry if treating the accounts differently doesn’t make sense to you. I promise there’s a method to the madness that I’ll explain later.
— Iowa City Police Log (@IC_ActivityLog) December 1, 2018