US police criticized for targeting black man in sniper training | Page not found

Police in Villa Rica (Georgia, USA) have been criticized for posting photos of a black man practicing shooting at a target marked by a photograph of a black man holding a handgun. The case is being investigated.

According to police, the targets used in the training included people of various races, including whites and Asians. However, the image posted was aimed at a black man.

“An innocent mistake, but a mistake. I’m very transparent in saying we made a mistake,” local police chief Michael Mansour said, according to NBC News. “I will not accept that I am racist and that my department is racist because of a mistake,” he added.

The Villa Rica Police Department responded to the backlash on social media in a Facebook post Wednesday (6/21), saying, “We did not intend to be insensitive, annoying or offensive to anyone.” The department said it valued the “honest views of our fellow citizens” and apologized for “any offence”.

Villa Rica Mayor Gil McDougal told the Telegraph on Wednesday that he was “personally embarrassed” by the photos and that “this incident does not reflect the values ​​of this community.” McDougal initiated and ordered an immediate investigation with the police department.

The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) office in Carroll County, where Villa Rica is located, issued an open letter to the director of the police department, calling the targeting “extremely offensive.” The group has also requested a meeting with city leaders to discuss the incident.

“These types of targets are used by other police departments across the United States and are considered racially inappropriate and unacceptable,” wrote Dominic Conde of the NAACP.

Last year, the Farmington Hills Police Department (Michigan, USA) faced the same question when using images of black men as targets in the training of its agents.