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Police have begun an internal probe after a Long Beach, Calif., officer allegedly posted a "disturbing" photo on Instagram, in which the officer appears to holding a baseball bat-sized baton over a blood-splattered concrete sidewalk.
Jacob Delgado, the officer accused of posting the picture on May 31, graduated from police academy following 27 weeks of training. He had worked for the department for less than two years. BuzzFeed News published the picture on Thursday, which was supposedly uploaded around the time a city protest turned violent.
The photo was later removed from the officer's social media account.
"The images depicted here are very disturbing and are not in line with the high standards we hold our officers accountable for," said Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna of the social media post in a statement.
The image also appeared on the feed of a relative of Jacob Delgado, with the caption "Bro getting his" splashed across the baton. Both Delgado and his sibling have since removed their profiles from social media.
Police issued a statement explaining that the officer responsible has be "relieved from employment" and an investigation is underway.
It's believed that Delgado was deployed in the city during recent protests, sparked by a series of recent killings of black individuals, including George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky. Floyd suffocated to death after white police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes, despite him repeatedly saying "I can't breathe." Taylor was killed when police shot her eight times after breaking into the wrong house.
"We hold our employees to the highest standards and will not ignore behavior that erodes public trust," said Chief Luna on the behavior of his Long Beach staff. "We will continue to work on rebuilding our public trust, and we ask that the actions of one don't deter you from the great things we do every day to keep our community safe."
Curfews were issued across the coastal city of Long Beach last week, to "ensure the continued safety of residents, businesses & emergency responders," posted officials on the Long Beach City Facebook page. These measures come after a series of peaceful protests turned violent, with reports of vandalism and looting.
Long Beach Police made a series of arrest on Sunday, many of these were for breaking curfew.
Police are turning to CCTV to aid them in future investigations of individuals suspected of looting and destruction during the recent protests.
About the writer
Jade has been a journalist for more than 15 years. She has lived in and reported on the Middle East, ... Read more