You always know you're making a difference when you search the Lumen Database for your domain name and find removal requests submitted to Google. That is especially true when the removal request is made on the grounds of "defamation" and includes not only your work but also every mention of the same story from the mainstream press. The other links we've checked out appear live on the web still and at least ours has not been removed from Google so we assume the request of suspended Lincoln Police officer Nicholas Russell was a failure.
The removal request sent to Google on or about December 4, 2022 and reported to Lumen on March 6, 2023 reads as follows:
"Defamation of character occurs when someone makes a false statement against you, which they publish or state as fact, causing harm to your personal and professional reputation and other damages, such as emotional distress and financial loss. I am requesting the above URL(S) are removed as they are false statements and a misrepresentation of my character. I have attempted to reach out to each individual news source, but have not been successful. Every person is entitled due process however I was not allowed that as the chief of police came out and made multiple false statements and accusations about myself without knowing the facts of the investigation instead he went off of the complaint itself. I am living with this negative digital footprint and it hinders my reputation and character. There are multiple statements in the articles thats were mentioned with no factual basis behind them. There was never a violent incident and there were never threats to bash anyones face in, yet in the article it states that it happened with no evidence backing it up. If such events occurred and have evidence I would have been arrested and charged with domestic violence. Thank you for your time in this matter."
The request was followed by a list of URLs including our brief 2019 post about his suspension following allegations of domestic violence. As is typical with Google and Lumen, they failed to sufficiently redact the URLs, so we easily figured out which one of ours they were talking about. That is really easy when the post number is in the URL and only the name of the complainer is redacted. Also, URLs to mainstream media outlets which did not include his name are intact, so anyone can just visit one of those to learn who filed that request.
The URLs he tried to de-index are as follows:
https://copblaster.com/blast/3302/lincoln-police-officer-nicolas-russell-suspended-with-pay
http://kearneyhub.com/news/article_e388c12d-6afc-5145-8c24-d3107f232beb.html
https://kearneyhub.com/news/state/lincoln-police-officer-suspended-amid-domestic-violence-allegations/article_e388c12d-6afc-5145-8c24-d3107f232beb.html
https://omaha.com/news/crime/lincoln-police-officer-suspended-amid-domestic-violence-allegations/article_163bd409-4e26-53a8-afe1-cc2338181b1d.html
https://www.3newsnow.com/media/v/content/80dbc06206f44a9881f1cef18e1e8306?_amp=true
https://www.kfornow.com/lincoln-police-officer-suspended-suspected-in-domestic-abuse-investigation/
https://www.klkntv.com/lincoln-police-officer-suspended-amidst-domestic-violence-investigation/
There were a few others which were sufficiently redacted, but not many.