LAPD, police union outraged by report of George Floyd ‘Valentine’
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The Los Angeles Police Department has launched an internal investigation after an officer reported that a photo of George Floyd with the words “You take my breath away” in a Valentine-like format was circulated among officers.
Police Chief Michel Moore said Saturday that investigators will try to determine how the image may have come into the workplace and who may have been involved, the Los Angeles Times reported. Moore said the officer who made the complaint will be interviewed Monday.
“Our investigation is to determine the accuracy of the allegations while also reinforcing our zero tolerance for anything with racist views,” Moore said.
Floyd, a Black man, was killed by Minneapolis police last May after an officer pressed a knee on his neck as Floyd repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe.” His death launched massive protests nationwide over racial injustice and police brutality.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon condemned the image, saying he would investigate the matter to see if any of his cases “may have been compromised by biased police work."
FILE - In this June 5, 2020, file photo, Los Angeles police chief Michel Moore, left, speaks as someone holds up a portrait of George Floyd during a vigil with members of professional associations and the interfaith community at Los Angeles Police Department headquarters in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Police Department launched an internal investigation after an officer reported that a photo of Floyd with the words "You take my breath away" in a Valentine-like format was circulated among officers, according to a newspaper report. Moore said Saturday, Feb. 12, 2021, that investigators will try to determine how the image may have come into the workplace and who may have been involved, the Los Angeles Times reported.[AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File]
The board of directors for the Los Angeles Police Protective League said in a statement that the union “repudiates this abhorrent image" and that any officer who “feels the need to be part of any online group that engages in, promotes, and/or celebrates this type of activity should quickly rethink their career choice because they clearly don’t have the judgment, nor temperament, to be a member of law enforcement.”
If the probe confirms LAPD officers were circulating the image, “people will find my wrath,” Moore said.
The Times reported that Moore also confirmed the department is investigating two anonymous Instagram accounts reportedly linked to department personnel — including one called the “Blue Line Mafia.”
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump released the following statement:
"The Floyd family is understandably outraged. This is beyond insult on top of injury – it’s injury on top of death. The type of callousness and cruelty within a person’s soul needed to do something like this evades comprehension – and is indicative of a much larger problem within the culture of the LAPD. We demand that everyone who was involved is held accountable for their revolting behavior and that an apology be issued to the family immediately."
Floyd’s uncle also spoke about the report of the photo of his nephew.
Horrific, horrific," Selwyn James, Floyd’s uncle, said. "You know man, you want to believe that people have respect and empathy. There’s a lot of vicious people."