Cop emails KKK image from a movie in discussion about face masks, Oklahoma chief says

An Oklahoma police officer is accused of sending an image from a movie scene portraying the Ku Klux Klan in response to an email discussion about coronavirus face masks.

Norman Police Chief Kevin Foster said during a news conference Tuesday the officer sent the image from the movie “Django Unchained,” which features actors in white hoods carrying torches.

The email was sent to the entire police department in a discussion about the difficulties of fitting into face masks and breathing in them, Foster said. In the movie scene, the KKK members talk about their ill-fitting white hoods, he said.

“I was very offended and couldn’t believe an officer had sent that out,” Foster said.

According to the police department, other employees “questioned the appropriateness of the image” within minutes, and the officer “apologized and clarified that he did not intend to offend anyone.”

The officer is still employed by the department. Foster said he immediately began an internal affairs investigation, and the department will consider a variety of discipline options.

Norman Mayor Breea Clark posted on Facebook that she will request a special meeting of a citizens advistory board to review the incident and also a community meeting “focusing on how we can better communicate with cultural sensitivity.”

“I am aware of internal emails between Norman Police officers that compare the Norman Police Department’s efforts to comply with the new safety measure of required masks with a scene from a popular movie that includes racist imagery,” Clark said. “Norman prides itself on being the most inclusive community in Oklahoma, and I am confident this matter will be investigated thoroughly and that appropriate corrective action will be taken.”

This story was originally published May 19, 2020 at 12:20 PM.