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Dallas officer on leave amid investigation into challenge coin

Officials said the coin, which an officer created to mark a police station anniversary, was “blatantly racist to the African-American community”

dallas police patrol car generic.jpg

Photo/Dallas Police Department

By Sarah Calams

DALLAS — A Dallas Police Department officer is on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation after selling a controversial challenge coin online.

The coin, according to NBC DFW, was created by the officer to mark the 15th anniversary of the South Central Police Patrol Station. The coin has a Dallas Police badge with the words “South Central” on one side and “Big T Plaza” with a doughboy drug dealer with a gun, gold teeth and cash on the backside. There’s also a police vehicle opposite a car with gold rims and a drug house near the bottom of the coin, according to the report.

Dallas Police officials pulled it offline after being alerted to an advertisement to fellow officers.

Terrance Hopkins, president of the Black Police Association of Greater Dallas, said the coin is “considered blatantly racist to the African-American community,” and that he will “not stand for any level of racism against its officers, civilian members, city of Dallas employees or the community.”

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia responded following the incident, saying he “will not allow an individual to stain or tarnish our badge and what we’re doing.”

“This is not what the Dallas Police stands for and it will not stand for that as long as it is my watch,” Garcia continued.

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