Two more officers have been suspended due to social media posts making light of police violence against black men.
It’s the second suspension case of this type within a week.
A Memphis officer posted an image to Snapchat on Thursday night, which shows a hand pointing a gun down a hallway. At the end of the hallway is an emoji of a black man running.
https://t.co/cSHAkgzig0 Two Memphis Police Officers Suspended Over Racist Snapchat pic.twitter.com/eiOiSeV1Zi
— Noella (@QueenLook2) July 10, 2016
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It was posted the night five Dallas officers were killed and another seven were shot during an otherwise peaceful protest against police violence, according to Fox 13.
The officers were shot by Micah Johnson, an Army veteran who was reportedly targeting white police officers. Dallas police later killed Johnson with a bomb during a prolonged confrontation. That shooting followed the police-involved deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile in Louisiana and Baton Rouge.
The second officer involved took a screenshot of the image and posted it in a Tweet with the caption, “So I came across this on my Snapchat from a fellow officer... I don’t know how to take it?”
Interim Memphis Police Department Director Mike Rallings told media that both officers have been suspended with pay until an internal investigation is complete.
“The image is disgusting and will not be tolerated,” Rallings said.
Director Rallings: Two MPD officers are relieved of duty following a social media post. MPD is conducting a thorough inquiry.
— Kyle Veazey (@kyleveazey) July 8, 2016
Fox 13 reported that the officer who posted the image to Twitter will likely only face punishment for a few days and allegedly meant it as an “act of disgust,” but the other faces consequences that are “more severe” and could be fired.
The Memphis Police Department refused to reveal the names of the officers, according to Fox 13.
Anthony Venable was the first officer to be suspended for a potentially racist social media post in the wake of recent police-involved deaths of black people. The Nashville Police Department announced that Venable was suspended last week for posting on Facebook that he would’ve shot Philando Castile five times instead of four.
Venable claimed he was being sarcastic in the post.
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