A mannequin dressed in a New York Police Department uniform and a pig mask was found in a mock lynching in Florida.
The mannequin was hanging from an overpass in Jacksonville, Florida, and police deputies pulled it down Saturday morning after a call reporting a potential suicide.
Mannequin in police uniform found hanging from overpass in Jacksonville https://t.co/bafmV57WMk pic.twitter.com/Fb0ineO1HY
— KHQ Local News (@KHQLocalNews) June 21, 2020
“Our goal at this point is to identify persons of interest for, most importantly, the safety of the members of the community and for our officers’ safety as well,” Sgt. Bruce Baker said. “We are thankful this was not a real person. Anyone who has any information on who may be responsible for this is encouraged to call our partners at Crime Stoppers.”
Local outlet KHQ reported that the mannequin also had “KKK” written on it.
The scene comes as protests, and in some cases riots, have spread across the country following the death of George Floyd while he was in police custody. Some demonstrators and activists are calling for police departments to be defunded, prompting some local governments to take action.
A veto-proof majority of the Minneapolis City Council signed a pledge this month to dismantle the city police department and reallocate funding to other areas of the city’s public safety budget.
“We’re here because we hear you. We are here today because George Floyd was killed by the Minneapolis Police. We are here because here in Minneapolis and in cities across the United States it is clear that our existing system of policing and public safety is not keeping our communities safe,” Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender said. “Our efforts at incremental reform have failed. Period.”
In Los Angeles, the city council proposed legislation that would slash the police budget by up to $150 million.
“We need to rethink what it is that makes people safer and makes communities stronger. We cannot just look at the police in isolation,” the motion read. “There is no doubt that communities of color suffer disproportionately from negative interactions with the police.”
