‘POOR JUDGMENT’

One Reprimand, One Resignation for Knoxville Police Blackface Photo

The cops, dressed as characters from “Forrest Gump,” posed with a child whose face was painted black.

An internal investigation by the Knoxville, Tennessee, Police Department found that two officers violated the code of conduct for a group Halloween costume that included one child in blackface. Officer Leah Miller resigned before the probe was completed, and Officer Todd McFaun has been reprimanded but will keep his job. The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that everyone in the photo that sparked the investigation wore Forrest Gump costumes; one child, apparently dressed up as the character Bubba, had his face painted black. “Though it was apparent that Officers MacFaun and Miller did not have malicious intentions, the costume reflected poor judgment, was entirely inappropriate given the long history of the use of blackface to oppress and stereotype the black community, and has no place in society,” the internal report says.