Villa Rica, Georgia police are under investigation after using a photograph of a black man as a target during a firearms class against civilians.
The police organization shared photos of this training session on social networks last Saturday.
It was then possible to see citizens carrying their guns toward the life-size photo of a black man aiming a gun and wearing a cap, NBC News reported.
In the face of heavy criticism, the photos were removed from the police department’s Facebook page, which has since stated that they were “never intended to be insensitive, inflammatory or offensive to anyone”.
Police Chief Michael Mansour mentioned that these targets would be used for training purposes across the state. He also pointed out that other targets depicting white and Asian people were also used during the course.
According to him, the officer who posted the photos made a mistake by only posting those where the target was a black man.
“It’s a harmless mistake, but it was a mistake,” Mr. Mansour told NBC News. “And I’ll say quite frankly that we did something wrong. But at no point will I accept being told I am racist or that our ministry is racist because we made a mistake.”
For his part, the mayor of the community, Gil McDougal, told the Telegraph that he was “personally embarrassed” by the photos. For this reason an investigation was launched.
“This type of target has been used by other law enforcement agencies in the United States and has been deemed racially inappropriate and unacceptable,” Dominique Conteh, president of the Carroll County NAACP, wrote in an open letter.
The police chief is expected to meet with the mayor and Mr. Conteh to discuss the incident.