A Georgia police department is under fire after images of several all-white shooting students using pictures of a Black man as target practice were posted on its social media. While the police chief insists the department uses people of all races, concerned citizens and the mayor say officers should have known the jarring images would spark outrage.
The pictures were from the Villa Rica Police Department’s Firearms Safety Class on June 17, 2023.
While the police department said the earlier target was a white man, the one posted on its Facebook resembled a middle-aged Black man with a skullcap, a gun, and a menacing scowl.
The social media team’s post prompted a response from various civil rights organizations and activists, including a local NAACP chapter.
“I started getting tagged from all the residents and organizations pertaining to the silhouette target of just this individual black man, who in my opinion had been dressed to look like a thug,” Dominique Conteh, president of the Carroll County NAACP branch, said to Atlanta News First. He also addressed the impact those images subconsciously have on the shooters.
“What you start to do is condition people to think this race or these individuals I’ve trained on them, I’ve used them as targets,” Conteh continues.
Outrage also spilled over to social media.
“Really sucks (but not surprised) to see the area where I grew up in training cops to kill people like me. Villa rica is probably the most mellow, safest areas you can live in Georgia but I’ve seen most investments in police and surveillance than basic infrastructure,” one person tweeted.
“I been to villa rica. No mistake. That’s how they are out there,” another person added.
“Nothing says open season on black men like the Villa Rica police department in GA having target practice on pictures of black men of course being portrayed as criminals,” a Twitter user posted, before adding, “Not even hiding the racism anymore.”
The mayor of the city, Gil McDougal, responded swiftly, condemning the posts made during the Juneteenth weekend.
“I’d like to speak to you about the offensive post on the Villa Rica Police Department Facebook page that so many have commented on,” he said, adding he is “personally embarrassed by it.”
McDougal said as soon as it was brought to his attention, he and members of his administration sought to develop a plan to rectify the misstep.
One effort was to ask the city’s human resources director and the city attorney to identify an outside organization to investigate what happened from the top of the training to the way the department dealt with the posts. He also moved to pull down all of the images from the police department’s official social media pages.
“We are removing the video and images from the post but I have directed that the comments to remain so that people can freely express their opinions about it. This incident does not reflect the values of this community and I will keep you informed as this process continues,” the mayor said.
Villa Rica Police Chief Michael Mansour also commented on the incident. He stated the posting was all a huge misunderstanding, asserting the images the force uses have all been approved by the Georgia Peace Officer Standard Training Council.
“We had other photos that show us using other targets, but that one photo and video was put up, and that’s where we messed up,” the chief said in response to the backlash.
Mansour says that while the posting was a gaffe, he understands, “Perception is reality.”
After removing the original posts, the VRPD also posted a statement on Facebook, apologizing to the public about the post, and acknowledging the post was “insensitive” and “offensive.”
The note explained how officers on the force strive “to be conscious” of their relationships with community members and maintain its “stance on being equitable to all people regardless of their human diversity factors.”
“The targets utilized in our recent firearms class depict realistic human images and were part of a package which included target images of people from various ethnic groups. It was never our intention to be insensitive, inflammatory, or offensive to anyone,” it read, asserting, “We respect the honest opinions of our fellow citizens and apologize for any offense we may have caused.”
At the end of the statement, the force invited those interested in attending training to come to the campus and encouraged them to experience the class alongside VRPD officers.
An official statement was posted on the NAACP Facebook account, condemning the use of a Black man as a target and saying the “apology” is not enough.
“The ‘apology’ statement from your department via Facebook displays a lack of sincerity, sensitivity toward minority residents, and makes it abundantly clear that your department. Lacks the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) training that all local officials should strive to participate in,” the statement said. It went to recommend that DEI training should be implemented in the department to inform the officers exactly why the targets were “unacceptable and deemed racist.”
Conteh requested a meeting with the chief, mayor, City Manager Tom Barber, and City Councilwoman Shirley Marchman regarding the next steps.
