The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) announced they are looking into a disturbing photo allegedly passed around the department on Valentine's Day mocking George Floyd's death.
Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, was killed by White former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin during an arrest on May 25, 2020. Chauvin suffocated the handcuffed victim by pinning him down and kneeling on his neck for nearly eight minutes.
In multiple videos capturing the incident, Floyd was heard crying out, "I can't breathe."
According to a spokesman for the LAPD, the Valentine's Day image of Floyd was accompanied by the caption, "You take my breath away."
The image was believed to be created by "a department employee."
You can watch the news report here:
The LAPD Headquarters posted about the incident on Facebook, which read in part:
"A personnel complaint has been initiated and we are pursuing each allegation, including interviewing the department member who brought it to our attention."
"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."
News Floyd's photo was allegedly shared between LA cops sparked outrage online.
Police Chief Michel Moore told The Los Angeles Times:
"Our investigation is to determine the accuracy of the allegations while also reinforcing our zero-tolerance for anything with racist views."
If the investigation confirms LAPD members did share the Valentine's Day image, Moore said, "people will find my wrath."
Floyd's death sparked thousands of protests around the world against racial injustice and the use of excessive force by U.S. police officers on Black suspects.
After Floyd's death, Chauvin was fired from the Minneapolis Police Department and was charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter.
His in-person trial is scheduled for next month.
The other fired Minneapolis officers who accompanied Chauvin and prevented passersby from interevening—J. Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao—were charged with aiding and abetting counts.
Those three defendants will be tried together on August 23.
