St. Louis police defends racist posts by saying they merely sympathize with a murderous vigilante.

[DetlefK]

https://io9.gizmodo.com/a-police-union-is-telling-cops-to-use-the-punishers-log-1836312866

Last Wednesday evening, union head Clark took to the group’s Facebook page to upload a letter in which he claimed that the officers under review could no longer send their cases to prosecutors because they posted a variation of the Punisher logo (a “thin blue line design” seemingly meant to bring attention to the “Blue Lives Matter” belief system), and did not mention the officers’ other documented posts. Clark called the review process “political”:

"The fact is, there will always be someone who finds fault with any symbol we identify with or person we choose to carry our message. The Blue Line symbol and the Blue Line Punisher symbol have been widely embraced by the law enforcement community as a symbol for the war against those who hate law enforcement. It’s how we show the world that we hold the line between good and evil."

So, the cops are being scrutinized for racist online-posts.

And the DEFENSE of the cops is to pretend that they are really being scrutinized for adopting the Punisher-logo...

The Punisher-character from Marvel is vigilante who considers himself judge, jury and executioner and straight-up kills people he deems evil.

And the St. Louis cops think that extra-judicial killings are okay.

While Clark and the union cops may not want to grapple with reality over fiction, Police Chief Hayden made it abundantly clear in a letter of his own why the officers are being looked into and stated that the Punisher in no way represents the police force’s express mission of protecting the public. Here is a portion of his public statement:

As law enforcement officers, our fundamental responsibility is to serve the community; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the constitutional rights of all to liberty, equality and justice. This is the oath we all took.

Although fictional in nature, the Punisher logo does not coincide with our mission to protect life and property and achieve a peaceful society...Undeniably, the recent social media coverage impacts our community relations, our potential ability to protect your integrity, and forces us all to work harder to build and mend relationships. While social media can be an asset in continuing relations with family, friends and colleagues, we all must remain cognizant of the messages certain posts may send and the interpretation the community may have of them.

[marble falls]

1. Lame excuses based on a comic book character do not a defense make ...

not even a lame one. The Bill of Rights is more American than pathetic justification of vigilantism.