Racially Tinged Photo Puts Annapolis Police Employee On Leave

ANNAPOLIS, MD — The face of an Annapolis Police officer in a photograph was covered with the image of another in what one resident says was a racist act. Officials have placed a police department employee on leave while the case is investigated, and Mayor Gavin Buckley says that discrimination will not be allowed. At least one of the photos in question is of an African-American police officer, whose face was covered with the image of a white person, according to a local activist.

The photos were altered Dec. 21 inside an Annapolis Police Department’s dispatch room and the incident was reported to Police Chief Scott Baker on Dec. 22, city officials said. Although the intent is unknown, the incident involved a police department employee altering several photographs and images with the face of a fellow dispatcher. That employee is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the internal investigation, Baker said.

“Discrimination – or even the perception of discrimination – is not tolerated by any department of the City of Annapolis. I ran for mayor to bring this city together as One Annapolis," Buckley said in a statement. "The only way we get there is by demanding transparency and accountability from all areas of our government and from each employee. As such, the priority of my administration must be in restoring the trust of the communities that we have pledged to serve and protect.”

Community organizer Carl Snowden said Wednesday on Facebook that the officer whose image was covered up is Corporal Kevin Freeman, an African-American who was placed on a new promotion list for sergeants about the time a white person's image was taped over his photo. Snowden posted a photo of the altered image on the police department wall to his Facebook post, which is below.

"Clearly, if people within the police department are placing racially offensive materials in their own department, what is happening in the community," Snowden wrote. "Mayor Buckley and a majority of the City Council ran on the platform of "One Annapolis". Well, they should speak in unison in condemning this act of racism."

When contacted Thursday by The Capital, Freeman declined to comment, the newspaper reports.

Freeman had recently won an appeal over Annapolis Police promotional practices, was retested and passed, city officials said. While Freeman qualifies for a promotion he is not not guaranteed to receive one, a city spokeswoman told The Capital.

Photo via Annapolis Police