(Via Law 4 Black Lives DC)

Nearly 1,000 people have signed a petition calling for a Metropolitan Police Department officer’s firing after he was seen at court wearing a t-shirt that features the grim reaper, references jump outs, and appears to include a white supremacist symbol. The police officer’s conduct is under investigation, and MPD has placed the officer on desk duty pending the outcome.

In activists’ telling, Officer Vincent Altiere was seen in the D.C. Superior Court in an official capacity on at least three occasions wearing a shirt that includes a “sun cross” or “Celtic cross,” which is commonly used by white supremacist groups. It also prominently displays a grim reaper wearing an MPD badge while holding an assault rifle. Text reads: “Let me see that waistband jo,” a reference to the controversial policing tactic of jump-outs (it has been described as “a scarier version of stop and frisk”).

“It’s three different levels of problems that are highly offensive and inappropriate. It suggests support for really problematic ideologies,” says Eugene Puryear of the Stop Police Terror Project, one of the groups that put out the petition. “It’s almost like they’re deliberately taunting the community about their fears and concerns they have about their constitutional rights.”

Other activists have filed a direct complaint with MPD, according to Puryear, but they wanted to ensure the public was aware of the situation.

MPD says it is investigating a “disturbing and disgraceful t-shirt allegedly worn” by an officer who may have been on-duty. “The message conveyed on the t-shirt does not represent MPD’s values. We understand the trust of the community is critical to our ongoing work and take seriously an incidents that may undermine the confidence the community has in our members,” the department said in a statement.

The officer has been placed in “non-contact status” pending the outcome.

The police chief replied to this story on Twitter, saying “this is disgraceful and does not represent the hard working and committed officers of the Seventh District.”

“If reports are accurate, the conduct is flat-out unacceptable. I was assured by the Chief this is being taken seriously,” Charles Allen, Ward 6 councilmember and chair of the judiciary and public safety committee, tells DCist. “In the District, community policing must be at the core of our approach to public safety. I hold all members of the Department to the highest standards, and incidents like this one are stark reminders we still have work to do to build trust and ensure that the District is a safe place for all.”

It is not yet clear if anyone else is involved. Puryear suspects that there are others, given that the t-shirt references the 7th District and seems unlikely to have been produced for just one person. According to the Washington Post’s Radley Balko, defense attorneys have seen other police officers in court wearing the same shirt.

MPD has not responded to questions about if any other officers are under investigation.

“In their own words, [MPD] officers seem to be associating themselves with the angel of death,” Puryear says. “That’s just totally outrageous especially in the context of police violence that they appear to be celebrating that they can take people’s lives.”

This post has been updated with a statement from Charles Allen and Police Chief Peter Newsham and to correct the spelling of the officers’ name.