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LAPD investigating report of George Floyd photo circulating with caption ‘You take my breath away’

LAPD Chief Michel Moore
LAPD Chief Michel Moore addresses reporters at a news conference at LAPD headquarters last month.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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The Los Angeles Police Department has launched an internal investigation after an officer reported that a photo of George Floyd with the words “You take my breath away” in a Valentine-like format was being “passed around” by other officers, Chief Michel Moore said Saturday.

Moore said the officer who made the complaint is set to be interviewed Monday, and the department’s goal is to determine exactly where and how the image may have come into the workplace, online or otherwise, and 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,” the chief said.

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If the department confirms officers were circulating the image, “people will find my wrath,” Moore said.

Moore also confirmed the department is investigating two Instagram accounts that people have reported as possibly being linked to department personnel — including one called the “Blue Line Mafia.”

Floyd, a Black man, was killed by Minneapolis police last May after one officer knelt on his neck for eight minutes as he repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe.”

His death spurred widespread protests across the country and world denouncing police brutality against Black people, including in Los Angeles.

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