A Georgia police department is facing backlash after photos surfaced on social media of a Black man's image being used for target practice.
According to NBC News, the Villa Rica Police Department held a firearms safety class for civilians last week where participants were seen aiming their guns at life-sized photos of Black men.
Photos of the event were initially posted on the department's Facebook page before being widely shared and denounced across various social media platforms.
The Villa Rica Police Department has since taken down the photos and apologized for “any offense we may have caused.”
“It was never our intention to be insensitive, inflammatory, or offensive to anyone," the department said in a Facebook post on Wednesday (June 21).
Michael Mansour, Villa Rica’s chief of police, told NBC News that targets featuring Black men are used statewide for training. The department also used targets depicting white and Asian individuals, but an officer mistakenly only posted photos of the Black targets, Mansour added.
“It’s just an innocent mistake, but it was a mistake,” he said. “And I’m very transparent in saying that we messed up. But at no time will I accept people telling me I’m a racist, or our department is a racist because we made a mistake.”
In a statement, Villa Rica Mayor Gil McDougal said he was “personally embarrassed” by the photos, adding that the “incident does not reflect the values of this community.” He has reportedly launched an investigation into the department.
The NAACP of Carroll County, where Villa Rica is located, slammed the targets as “extremely offensive.”
“These types of targets have been used by other police departments within the U.S. and have been deemed racially inappropriate and unacceptable,” NAACP Carroll County president Dominique Conteh said.
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