For decades, United States police forces have been under scrutiny for the treatment of African American citizens. In more recent years it's progressively gotten worse with the numerous killings of Black men at the hands of law enforcement. And just when we thought we were making a move towards a change, the Chicago Sun Times just released a photo of two White male cops in an utterly disgusting position with a Black man.
Former Chicago police officers Timothy McDermott and Jerome Finnigan can be seen in the picture holding rifles and propping up the face of an unidentified Black man wearing antlers on his head. Court reports say that the man was in possession of "20 bags of weed" and that he had actually provided the officers with the rifles. The photo - supposedly taken between 1999-2003 - was given to the city two years ago in 2013, ultimately leading to the firing of McDermott. Finnigan was already facing 12 years and had served two of them for "leading a crew of rogue cops in robberies, home invasions and other crimes."
Police Supt. Garry McCarthy told the Chicago Sun-Times that the photo "is disgusting, and the despicable actions of these two former officers have no place in our police department or in our society. As the superintendent of this department, and as a resident of our city, I will not tolerate this kind of behavior, and that is why neither of these officers works for CPD today. I fired one of the officers and would have fired the other if he hadn't already been fired by the time I found out about the picture. Our residents deserve better than this, as do the thousands of good men and women in this department."
Judge Thomas Allen was asked to "keep the photo under seal" by all attorneys involved, but denied their request in March, leading to the Chicago Sun Times receiving a copy and releasing it to the public.
McDermott is currently appealing his dismissal.
Source: Chicago Sun Times
