Apparently, this Iowa police officer had some trouble understanding MySpace’s privacy settings.

A local resident notified the Altoona, IA, police department after he discovered cop Abigail Keller’s MySpace page containing inappropriate photos of her at a bar. In one shot, she was mooning the camera, while in others she performed simulated sex acts, Associated Content reports.

Keller’s response: The pictures were posted a few years ago, before she was hired — and she (mistakenly) believed her profile was blocked from public view.

The department fired her. Was that the legal thing to do?

Yes. When Keller took the city to court, a judge ruled the firing was justified, since a police force must maintain a good reputation in the public’s eye.

However, the court did grant Keller unemployment pay, because she did not “intentionally disregard” the department’s interests.

Tags: fired, MySpace, police officer, unemployment