Posted on 07/17/2018 2:04:18 PM PDT by yesthatjallen
Four Alabama police officers have been suspended without pay after the city's mayor says they made a hand gesture some associate with white supremacist movements in an official photo.
Local news station ABC 33 reports that four officers in the Jasper Police Department were suspended on Tuesday after a photo appeared in the Daily Mountain Eagle showing the four men making an "OK" gesture with their hands, which some say is meant to look like the letters "WP" for "white power."
"That's contradictory to how we run our city. That's not our mindset. That's not the way we do things and they used poor judgement," Jasper Mayor David O'Mary told ABC, adding that the concern was first raised by citizens.
Others say the symbol is a reference to the child's prank known as the "circle game," which tricks victims into looking down at a circular gesture near the prankster's crotch. Local residents identified that game when shown the photo, according to ABC, and O'Mary says he did not ask what the officers meant by the gesture.
"It's a kid game. Going around and hitting everybody when you see it," one town resident told ABC.
The four officers, part of the city's drug enforcement task force, will be suspended for two weeks without pay. O'Mary defended his decision to the news station by reporting that two senior African-American officers on the city's police force spoke with him after it was made, saying they agreed with the suspensions.
"We talked to two senior African-American law enforcement officers that are on the City of Jasper's payroll and they think it's fair and that's a pretty good sounding board."
The Anti-Defamation League, which tracks hate groups and hate speech, has said that the "OK" gesture is not necessarily linked to white supremacist movements.
It’s a KIDS GAME
FFS.
If it had been gang signs, it would have been OK.
I have seen photos of Obama and Hillary giving the Nazi salute, and they got a total pass.
O’Mary is an idiot,,,,,,,,,,,
They look more like a paintball or airport team than a professional law enforcement agency.
Airsoft not airport
It always warms the cockles of my heart to see masked police. /s
American Sign Language.....
I’ve got a hand gesture for them....................
What is the difference between “white power” and “black power” other than spelling??????
Next they’ll tell us “thumbs up” is a sign of sexual predator.
It’s the circle game. I started playing it in middle school circa 1983, played it all the way through high school and 20 years of military service. My 11 and 13 year olds play it now. Betcha $10.00 the four of them had no idea the others were doing it. Ridiculous!!!
Except for the POLICE written across their chests...
They could be mistaken for Antifa thugs.
The “OK” sign does mean something rude in parts of South America, and has been known to unexpectedly precipitate problems for American tourists, but it has nothing to do with “White Power”.
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