Caption: LA Police investigating sick George Floyd Valentine’s card
Credit: AP
Police are investigating reports a photo of George Floyd with the words ‘you take my breath away’ in a Valentine-like format was circulated among officers.
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) launched an internal investigation after an officer reported seeing the image of Mr Floyd.
Mr Floyd, a Black man, died on May 25 last year after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against his neck while he was handcuffed and saying he couldn’t breathe.
His death sparked massive protests in the US over racial injustice and police brutality.
Police chief Michel Moore said investigators will try to determine how the image may have come into the workplace and who may have been involved, the LA Times reported.
He said: ‘Our investigation is to determine the accuracy of the allegations while also reinforcing our zero-tolerance for anything with racist views.’
Los Angeles police chief Michel Moore (AFP)
Chief Moore added If the probe confirms LAPD officers were circulating the image, ‘people will find my wrath.’
The officer who made the complaint will be interviewed on Monday.
Chief Moore also confirmed the department is investigating two anonymous Instagram accounts reportedly linked to department personnel – including one called the Blue Line Mafia, the Times reported.
Chauvin is charged with the second-degree murder and manslaughter of Mr Floyd.
The other defendants, J. Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao, were charged with aiding and abetting counts.
George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died in Minneapolis, Minnesota
The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Friday dismissed a prosecutors’ request to delay next month’s planned trial of Chauvin over their safety concerns about trying the case during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The appeals court also dismissed the state’s request to hold a joint trial for Chauvin and the three other former officers who are scheduled for trial in the summer.
Prosecutors did not show that holding Chauvin’s trial in March would have a ‘critical impact’ on their chance for a successful prosecution, the appeals court wrote.
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