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Internal Affairs investigation clears Philly police officer with Nazi tattoo

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K

kame-sennin

Member
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An Internal Affairs investigation has found a Philadelphia officer did not violate department policy by having an apparent Nazi tattoo on his left arm.

Photos of Officer Ian Hans Lichterman and his tattoos spread across social media late last summer, prompting angry reaction online and an Internal Affairs investigation.

The Internal Affairs investigation cleared Lichterman of any violations, closing the case in December, police said. They did not respond to follow-up questions inquiring whether any specific determinations were made about the tattoos.

Meanwhile, nearly five months after the controversy erupted, police brass have yet to deliver a promised tattoo policy for its ranks.

Photos of the tattoos, posted to Facebook by Evan Parish Matthews, showed a German eagle beneath the word "Fatherland" on Lichterman's left arm. The post indicated the photos were taken on July 26, 2016 at Philadelphia’s #BlackResistanceMarch during the Democratic National Convention.

The eagle appears to resemble one depicted in the Nazi Party's partieadler emblem, a symbol included in the Anti-Defamation League's "Hate Symbols Database."

That symbol features an eagle with outstretched wings, its head pointed left, and holding a wreath containing a swastika. The photos of Lichterman's tattoos did not show whether his eagle was perched on a swastika.
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Mayor Jim Kenney, who previously called the tattoos "disturbing" and "incredibly offensive," released a statement that voiced the same reaction. But without an existing tattoo policy, Kenney said police could not dismiss Lichterman.
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On Tuesday, John McNesby, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 5, reiterated his prior statements defending Lichterman, saying there was "nothing wrong" with the tattoos.

"There was nothing there to investigate," McNesby said. "He had a tattoo. There was no policy. He had it for years. He had no discipline. There was no issue with it."
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http://www.phillyvoice.com/internal...s-philly-police-officer-apparent-nazi-tattoo/
 
G

Gattsu25

Banned
Just shows why Internal Investigations is not enough.

"We investigated ourselves and found out we weren't guilty, guys!"
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
The fixation over "he has a nazi tattoo" versus "he is a nazi" seems like a distraction. No one wants him fired because of a tattoo, they want him fired because there's no scenario where you'd get a nazi tattoo if you're not a nazi. The reply by the police union rep is a non-sequitur because it wasn't about the tattoo to begin with. If he can't be fired for being a nazi, that's another thing (and maybe something that should be changed!)
 
H

hodayathink

Member
Gattsu25 said:
Just shows why Internal Investigations is not enough.

"We investigated ourselves and found out we weren't guilty, guys!"
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Police unions are some of the strongest, if not the strongest, in the nation. If there isn't/wasn't a policy on this on the books, there was no way they could fire him for it. And let's be real, it's hard enough to fire cops who have done bad things on the job. Firing one that hasn't yet because of his political beliefs?
 
T

theignoramus

Member
hodayathink said:
Police unions are some of the strongest, if not the strongest, in the nation. If there isn't/wasn't a policy on this on the books, there was no way they could fire him for it.
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Those unions need to be sued by the ACLU for enacting policies that violate people's Fourth Amendment rights.
 
D

Dierce

Member
If the country still stands in a decade I'm sure it will be because liberals are back in power. I can't wait for our more militant form of liberalism to take over and purge all these bigoted assholes from their jobs.
 
D

DrBo42

Member
99Luffy said:
From the picture it doesnt quite look like the nazi symbol.
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The eagle isn't quite right. Maybe he got a bad artist but that eagle style isn't seen in German symbols outside of the Nazi party AFAIK.

I mean...the typeface used is almost an exact match.

13154433.jpg

officer.tat_-1000x586.jpg
 
W

WhiteRabbitEXE

Member
I like how IA is portrayed in TV shows as some draconian branch obsessed with cracking down on any cop who even glances in the wrong direction, when in real life it's all "you a Nazi? You kill black folk? No worries, we good fam, have a cookie"
 
S

shintoki

sparkle this bitch
DrBo42 said:
The eagle isn't quite right. Maybe he got a bad artist but that eagle style isn't seen in German symbols outside of the Nazi party AFAIK.

I mean...the typeface used is almost an exact match.

13154433.jpg

officer.tat_-1000x586.jpg
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Clearly it says Father Love, nothing German can be evil.
 
A

adamsappel

Member
99Luffy said:
From the picture it doesnt quite look like the nazi symbol.
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You would get a tattoo that might be easily misconstrued as a Nazi symbol, if you're not a Nazi? "It's not a swastika, it's a Hindu symbol!" Never mind it says "FATHERLAND" right above it. It ain't exactly subtle.
WhiteRabbitEXE said:
I like how IA is portrayed in TV shows as some draconian branch obsessed with cracking down on any cop who even glances in the wrong direction, when in real life it's all "you a Nazi? You kill black folk? No worries, we good fam, have a cookie"
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I don't understand why other cops hate them. It seems like they're the last rubber stamp on the "no charges filed" paper trail.
 
9

99Luffy

Banned
adamsappel said:
You would get a tattoo that might be easily misconstrued as a Nazi symbol, if you're not a Nazi? "It's not a swastika, it's a Hindu symbol!" Never mind it says "FATHERLAND" right above it. It ain't exactly subtle.
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High chance that he is a racist. But a german eagle without the nazi sign kinda puts it below the confederate flag as far as hate symbols go imo. And I doubt theyre firing any cop with that tattoo.
 
A

Aselith

Member
99Luffy said:
High chance that he is a racist. But a german eagle without the nazi sign kinda puts it below the confederate flag as far as hate symbols go imo. And I doubt theyre firing any cop with that tattoo.
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When you find yourself arguing the tier of hate symbol your tattoo is on, I think we can all agree you are a full blown racist.
 
I

III-V

Member
Only tier 2 run of the mill racist tats not like this is some Hitler's mustache swastika on the forehead give the guy a break it's just locker room talk.
 
9

99Luffy

Banned
Aselith said:
When you find yourself arguing the tier of hate symbol your tattoo is on, I think we can all agree you are a full blown racist.
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Im saying alot of cops are racist, and theres a high chance he is too. But if a tattoo is all were going by to fire him then no I dont think he should be fired.

Unfortunetly if hes caught targeting minorities the police union will probably protect him for that too.
 
L

L Thammy

Member
99Luffy said:
Im saying alot of cops are racist, and theres a high chance he is too. But if a tattoo is all were going by to fire him then no I dont think he should be fired.
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When your tattoos serve to undermine the trust that the public is supposed to have in your organization, when your organization is supposed to be responsible for public safety, I don't see the problem holding them to a higher standard. Let this guy work in a warehouse or something.

Americans really need to get over their unwillingness to persecute hate speech (in all its forms).
 
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