Reports Of LAPD-Linked George Floyd 'Valentine' Sparks Outrage

Los Angeles CA

15 February, 2021

6:23 PM

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LOS ANGELES, CA — Allegations that a Valentine-styled image of George Floyd captioned "you take my breath away" was passed around between Los Angeles Police Department officers sparked outrage among city officials, activists and the department's union on Monday. An internal investigation was launched over the weekend to determine whether the image was authored or circulated by officers, the department said Saturday. The officer who made the complaint was set to be interviewed Monday, 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," Moore told the Times Saturday. "If the department confirms that officers were circulating the image, people will find my wrath." The LAPD is looking into two Instagram accounts that may be linked to personnel. One of these accounts is reportedly called "Blue Line Mafia," Moore confirmed with the Times. In addition to the department's investigation, George Gascón, the city's district attorney, said his office would be working to determine if the integrity of any of its cases were compromised by "biased police work." "Celebrating the murder of a Black man at the hands of police demonstrates a profound absence of humanity," Gascón wrote in a statement Monday. "The mock valentine underscores the highly problematic, and frankly, racist perceptions that pervade the law enforcement culture regarding the communities we are sworn to protect and serve." The attorney who represented Floyd's family, Ben Crump, also issued a statement. "The Floyd family is understandably outraged," Crump said. "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." Floyd died on May 25 at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on his neck for nine minutes. Floyd repeatedly said "I can't breathe" in his final moments. Chauvin is currently awaiting trial on a second-degree murder charge. Activists on Monday called for the firing of any law enforcement officer who authored or shared the post. Project Islamic Hope director Najee Ali spoke at a Monday news conference at the LAPD's Harbor station, where the complaint reportedly originated. "It's despicable and outrageous that there are LAPD employees who are in the workplace mocking the police murder of George Floyd," Ali said. Ali and a group of activists have requested a meeting with Moore to discuss the matter. "We have a relationship with law enforcement," community activist LaWanda Hawkins said Monday. "And I'm not going to allow anything like that to destroy our relationship. I hope this makes our relationship a little bit stronger. I know the (police) captain here and I know how he's working with the community." Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer also released a statement Monday condemning such behavior. "No one with racist views has any place in our police force," Feuer said. "It is outrageous that anyone sworn to serve our city would ever conceive of creating or distributing this image. I commend Chief Moore's swift action in getting to the bottom of this, and his commitment to hold the offending officer(s) accountable. Whoever participated in this incident stains the badge, and undermines the efforts of officers throughout the department who strive to earn the trust and respect of the communities they serve." The LAPD's union called the image "abhorrent" and said that it repudiates "anyone associated with its creation, dissemination, or passive observation of it." "If that image was created, 'liked,' or shared by a member of the LAPD, the chief of police must act swiftly to hold those individuals accountable, " the union said in a statement. "There must be zero tolerance for this behavior in our profession, and any police 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." On Saturday evening, LAPD officer Rosario Cervantes told Patch that a personnel complaint had been initiated. Cervantes said she was unable to disclose any information about a specific employee nor when the post was shared. "We are aware of that inappropriate post," Cervantes said Saturday. Cervantes also confirmed that on Friday an email addressing the image was sent to all Harbor Patrol Division personnel by Captain Jay Mastick. "I just received word through the chain of command of a complaint that was generated on an inappropriate online post from a Department member," Mastick wrote in the email. "The post depicts a photo of George Floyd, with a caption, 'you take my breath away' in a valentine format. "Chief Moore was disgusted by the post and directed that a Department complaint be generated," he continued. "...Messages with inappropriate content may also result in discipline. "I ask that you maintain your professionalism and use judicious restraint while posting online because it will ultimately reflect on you and your position with the Department," he wrote. The department said Saturday that "any actual postings in the workplace" had not yet been confirmed. "We have raised the apparent existence of the image and directed commands to survey the worksites for it," the department tweeted. Floyd's death triggered a national social justice movement that prompted hundreds of thousands to hit the streets over the summer. This is a developing story, refresh the page for updates. So someone in the LAPD posted a photo of George Floyd on social media with the caption, "you take my breathe away" in a Valentine format.Really? This doesn't help the situation. I'm curious as to the division and rank of the person who made the post. Holla. pic.twitter.com/bclHH8U2Di— Jasmyne Cannick (@Jasmyne) February 14, 2021 The callous nature of what's alleged here is exceedingly disturbing, and it speaks volumes to law enforcement's inability to recognize how harmful the use of unlawful force is to public attitudes about police. (4/8)— George Gascón (@LADAOffice) February 15, 2021 The City News Service contributed to this report.