Associated Press
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — A white Missouri police officer has been placed on unpaid leave after he appeared in a racially charged music video wearing his uniform and carrying a sign reading “cop lives matter.”
St. Joseph patrolman Zackary Craft also is seen reaching for his gun in the video for “Before This Bomb Blows Up (Racism Goes Both Ways)” by Josh Smith, a white suburban Kansas City rapper who performs as J.Smitty.
Smith says he took down the video when Craft was suspended last week but reposted it Thursday with Craft’s face blurred.
Craft’s attorney, Morgan Roach, says Craft allowed himself to be filmed “without knowing the words, content, or context” and was “appalled” when he saw the video.
Police spokesman Capt. Jeff Wilson says the department “in no way condones the video.”
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press