hey @unevadareno! one of your officers, Antonio Gutierrez, decided to go as a racist portrayal of #Kaep last night. this isn’t ok!! pic.twitter.com/eCnYFcauxn
— ✨(202) 224 – 3121✨ (@glaserface) October 29, 2017
An officer at the University of Nevada, Reno police department came under fire for a Halloween costume that mocked Colin Kaerpernick.
A Twitter user posted a photo of Officer Antonio Gutierrez wearing an afro wig and a witch nose, with a beard drawn on his face. He is seen wearing a red T-shirt with “49ers” and “7” written on it, and a sign hanging from his neck that reads, “Will Stand For Food.”
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Adam Garcia, the Assistant Vice President and Director of Police Services at the University of Nevada, Reno, issued an apology on Oct. 29.
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“For those who have seen the Halloween costume of one of our officers apparently mocking a citizen who has chosen to take advantage of his constitutional right to protest, I offer my sincere apologies,” Garcia said. “Members of our profession are held to a higher standard and denigrating another – on or off duty – is insensitive for its lack of respect and lack of understanding on how others may negatively view their actions and may be impacted.”
“I have heard from many members of our community over the past few weeks that they feel unsafe on campus because of our current social and political climate. Behavior such as this magnifies unsafe feelings and lack of trust in police, especially when that individual is responsible for the safety of all members of the University, regardless of color, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religion,” Garcia continued.
“At a time when officers should be heightened in their attentiveness to perception by our community, this act seems extremely out of touch with those sentiments and reflects poorly on all of us,” the statement added.
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“To regain the trust of our students, and in particular those of color, will be a challenge and will be a priority through continued education, training and conversation,” he concluded.
Kaepernick started the NFL National Anthem protests at the start of the 2016 season, choosing to kneel to bring attention to police brutality and racial injustice. Kaepernick remains unsigned. He played college football at the University of Nevada, Reno.
