The teenage girls arrested in a profanity-filled exchange that went viral on social media are trouble makers who are well-known by police in the small town of Lipscomb, the mayor said Friday.

Lipscomb Mayor Tanja Baldwin defended the actions of the police department, saying officers were simply doing their jobs when they arrested three girls following the video-taped exchange on Monday.

“Our Lipscomb police officers were operating within the legal scope of their practice,” Baldwin said Friday. “All of our officers are APOST certified professionals who were there to do their job, and they executed their duties appropriately.”

Baldwin said an investigation by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office shows that the Lipscomb officers acted properly.

Lipsco

See Full Page