Police Officers Being Investigated For Controversial Photograph In Arlington National Cemetery

Police officials at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Arlington, Virginia, said they are conducting an internal investigation after the emergence of a picture, which apparently glorifies police violence.

The picture showed several officers who are responsible for patrolling Arlington National Cemetery smiling and laughing as they pretend to beat a fellow co-worker, reported Fox-affiliate Fox5 News.

In an exclusive report, Fox5 News said the Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Police Department is conducting an internal investigation regarding the matter.

The picture was shared with Fox5 News by a source within the police department. According to him, the picture of the officers pretending to beat up a co-worker was shot at Thanksgiving while the officials were on active duty at the cemetery.

Police officials at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall are responsible for patrolling and responding to potential crimes on the base and at Arlington National Cemetery.

Although the faces of the officers involved in the incident have been blurred as the police department has still not confirmed whether the policemen had violated any policies, however, according to a base spokesperson, at least two officers are said to be on administrative duty during the investigation.

Check out the picture here.

The picture shows seven police officers holding what look like batons, pepper spray, and other weapons while pretending to beat a fellow officer by holding him down to the ground. All the officers can be seen smiling in the picture.

Speaking of the incident, base spokesperson Michael Howard told Fox5 News that the officers were “horsing around” and the incident deteriorated into “unprofessional behavior." Howard also clarified that the officers’ actions in no way represent the views of the base or the police agency.

Cemetery officials are yet to comment on the picture.

However, glorification of police violence within police departments shouldn't come as a surprise.
During a speech on July 28 in New York, President Donald Trump while talking about gang violence encouraged police officers to be coarse with suspects, apparently endorsing brutal behavior.

He asked officers to not protect the suspect’s head while putting them in the car. “Please don’t be nice,” Trump said.

The footage of the speech released by CNN also shows law enforcement officers cheering, laughing and applauding as the president spoke, Qartz.com reported.

“When you see these towns and when you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon, you just see them thrown in, rough, I said, ‘Please don’t be too nice.’ Like when you guys put somebody in the car and you’re protecting their head, you know, the way you put their hand over, like, don’t hit their head and they’ve just killed somebody, don’t hit their head, I said, ‘You can take the hand away, okay?'”