Police Are Investigating If An Officer Posted A “Valentine” Of George Floyd Captioned, “You Take My Breath Away”

The post was being "passed around" by Los Angeles Police Department officers, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating a complaint that a staff member posted a Valentine's Day–styled image of George Floyd with the caption, "You take my breath away."

In a statement provided to BuzzFeed News on Sunday, a spokesperson for the LAPD said the department was "aware of the post" and that "a personnel complaint has been initiated." Citing the personnel issue, they declined to comment any further and would not describe the contents of the post.

According to a screenshot of an email apparently sent to LAPD employees by Capt. Jay Mastick, "the post depicts a photo of George Floyd, with a caption, 'you take my breath away' in a valentine format." The screenshot was posted by local activist Jasmyne Cannick, and the Los Angeles Times confirmed the contents of the post on Saturday, adding that it was being "passed around" by officers within the Police Department.

According to the Times, LAPD Chief Michel Moore said the officer who reported the image was set to be interviewed Monday to help the department determine who may have been involved.

“Our investigation is to determine the accuracy of the allegations while also reinforcing our zero tolerance for anything with racist views,” Moore told the Times.

The LAPD tweeted Saturday night that there were allegations the post was authored by an employee but that officials had not yet "identified any actual postings in the workplace" or confirmed whether it was created by a member of the Police Department.

The Department has become aware of allegations that an image was being passed around the department and this image was in the workplace. There are also allegations that the post with the image was authored by a department employee.

LAPD HQ / Twitter / Via Twitter: @LAPDHQ

Floyd, whose death at the hands of Minneapolis police over the summer sparked mass protests against police brutality, told officers that he couldn't breathe more than 20 times before he passed out and died as they pinned him to the ground in a knee chokehold.

According to the email screenshot, police supervisors were instructed to "reinforce the need for professionalism on our online behavior, as it is a reflection on all Los Angeles Police Officers."

"Messages with inappropriate content may also result in discipline," the message read.

Mastick did not immediately respond to BuzzFeed News' request for comment.

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