(Via Law 4 Black Lives DC)

After more than 1,000 people signed a petition calling for the firing of a police officer for wearing a t-shirt to court that featured a picture of a grim reaper and a possible white supremacist symbol, the Metropolitan Police Department has disciplined one police officer and two supervisors.

That concludes the investigation of the case, according to MPD spokesman Dustin Sternbeck who declined to specify what, specifically, the discipline entailed. The Washington Post first reported that a police officer was disciplined along with two supervisors who knew about the shirt, which referenced a controversial policing tactic and featured a style of cross commonly used by white supremacist groups.

Chief Peter Newsham called the shirt disgraceful in the wake of DCist’s reporting, but told the Post that it is unclear if there was racist intent behind the image. He also said that as many as a dozen officers seem to have purchased the shirt but they each denied wearing them.

Eugene Puryear of the Stop Police Terror Project, one of the groups that put out the petition, is heartened that supervisors were disciplined.

“[It] actually speaks to the critique we were making, which is that there is a culture inside the MPD that tolerates this sort of thing,” Puryear says. “Higher level officials had to be condoning it.”

But, he adds, it is “disappointing” that more officers aren’t facing consequences and that the punishment for those who are may just be a “slap on the wrist.” The department is “serious enough to recognize that it’s a PR issue, but not serious enough to do anything substantive,” Puryear says.

MPD is also investigating an elite gun recovery unit after several advocacy groups publicized an image more than a dozen officers standing behind a flag with guns, handcuffs, a skulls with a bullet hole in the forehead, and the motto “Vest Up One In The Chamber.” The groups also said that officers were seen wearing the same image on patches and sweatshirts while on duty.

As of publication, Sternbeck was unable to provide an update on the internal investigation into that incident.

Previously:
MPD Is Now Investigating Another Violent Logo Worn By Police Officers
D.C. Police Officer Under Investigation After Allegedly Wearing Shirt With White Supremacist Symbol To Court