A disturbing photo of a police officer giving a thumbs up sign next to the body of a deceased Black man has raised outrage and upset over social media.
The picture shows 28-year-old Omar Rahman, who was found dead in August in his St. Louis, Missouri, and an unidentified white police officer giving a thumbs up with his left hand and holding Rahman’s arm in the other.
North County Police Cooperative Chief Tim Swope initially declined KMOV’s request to show him the photo and refused to make an on-the-record comment as the department began investigating the photograph. This week, the department released a statement, written by Swope, on the incident.