Yesterday evening, Cleveland.com captured what appeared to be a Shaker Heights police officer giving the middle finger to peaceful protestors who had assembled to demonstrate before the presidential debate in Cleveland. (It’s the driver of the black van.)
Beyond being an inflammatory and unnecessary gesture, it was also a stupid one: The route was packed not only with demonstrators but hordes of media with cameras and phones in hand. So it was not surprising, then, that clips of the salute quickly spread on social media to thousands of viewers.
Less than 12 hours later, it appears the officer’s superiors have seen them as well.
In a tweet this morning, Shaker Heights police said: “Last night a Shaker Heights police officer driving a security vehicle as part of the Presidential debate detail is reported to have made an obscene gesture to a group of protestors. An investigation is underway.”
This article appears in Sep 23 – Oct 6, 2020.
