KMOV
The North St. Louis Police Department has some explaining to do.
The St. Louis Police Department has some explaining to do following the release of a disturbing photo taken next to the body of a deceased African-American man.
The family of 28-year-old Omar Rahman is rightfully demanding answers over a photo released by KMOV News this weekend, in which a White St. Louis police officer is seen giving a thumbs up sign next to Rahman’s body as he lay lifeless in his apartment home. According to the news station, officers were responding to a call at Rahman’s St. Louis, Missouri residence in early August when they arrived to find him unresponsive from an apparent accidental drug overdose.
Rahman’s mother Kim Stanton was appalled after seeing the picture.
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“In your mind, is there any reasonable explanation for what that officer was doing? No,” Stanton told the investigating KMOV reporter after seeing the photo. “When they come to a call, they’re supposed to be there to help and protect, not doing what he was doing with thumbs up and a smirk on his face.”
North County Police Chief Tim Swope reportedly declined to appear on camera or view the tasteless photo in question, saying only that the department is currently conducting an internal and external investigation into “the totality of the situation.”
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