A Dallas Police officer was given a five-day suspension after creating a challenge coin that was deemed “racist” by some of his Black fellow officers.
Challenge coins are commemorative coins that some police departments use to encourage camaraderie between officers. Officers get them and exchange them with each other as a way to promote fellowship and lift morale, according to FOX 4.
The coin in question was supposed to commemorate the 15-year anniversary of the Dallas Police Department’s South Central Patrol Division.
Officer Caleb McCollum, a white officer from the South-Central Division, made the art for a coin that depicted a caricature drawn much like the Pillsbury Doughboy but depicted as a gold grill-wearing “Dough Boy” In Dough Boy’s hands are an assault rifle and money.
In the background of the coin’s design is a purple car with giant gold rims on the right, a Dallas PD vehicle on the left, and the words “Big T Plaza” overhead, referencing a shopping center off I-35 and Ann Arbor in the Oak Cliff neighborhood, where many Black customers shop.
The rendering of the coin was placed on the official page of the Dallas Police Association’s website in August 2022.
When union officials became aware of its offensive message, they said it was made in “very poor taste.” The union promptly removed it from its social media page amidst the backlash over how appropriate it would be to make such a coin.
The Dallas Morning News reports 38 officers, including Hispanic, white, Black, and Asian officers, tried to buy the coin when it was posted.
The objection to the coin rendering was submitted to Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia by the Dallas Black Police Association, who took action to discipline the artist.
Following a disciplinary hearing, the chief administered a five-day suspension to the officer; Garcia announced this week, but no information has been released on when the punishment is to be served or already has been.
According to WFAA, Garcia said in a statement the coin was “insensitive and racially offensive.”
“I know that this coin, and what it depicts, does not represent the beliefs or ideals of the men and women of the Dallas Police Department as a whole,” the chief. “We will not tolerate this type of conduct.”
Others from the community objected, including the Rev. Ronald Wright, a member of the Community Police Oversight Board.
“What was he thinking to create something like that? Could this be how the majority of a certain group of Dallas Police Department officers feel?” Wright asked.
Following the initial wave of public outrage and the suspension, McCollum was promptly put on administrative leave, where he has remained ever since.
