LAPD Investigates Image Mocking George Floyd Circulating Among Officers
The Los Angeles Police Department announced on Saturday (Feb. 13) that it launched an internal investigation into a report that officers circulated a Valentine’s Day formatted photo of George Floyd with the caption “You take my breath away,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
“Our investigation is to determine the accuracy of the allegations while also reinforcing our zero tolerance for anything with racist views,” Chief Michel Moore stated.
“At this point the Department has not identified any actual postings in the workplace or identified that it was in fact our department employee who created the image. We have raised the apparent existence of the image and directed commands to survey the worksites for it,” a tweet from the LAPD said.
Police officials planned to interview the officer on Monday (Feb. 15) who filed the complaint.
If the image is found, “any employee or supervisor is directed to take possession and identify those present,” the Police Department said. “The Department will have zero tolerance for this type of behavior.”
Floyd, a Black man, was killed last May during an arrest when Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for eight minutes as he repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe.” The killing ignited nationwide protests.