An Ohio police chief is being investigated following the discovery of racist and antisemitic texts.
Screenshots of the messages obtained by 19 News show East Cleveland Police Chief Brian Gerhard sent and received offensive texts and memes dating back to 2019. Some of the racist memes involved Adolf Hitler and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
A meme featuring a photo of Hitler reads: "You have ADHD? Well, I know a place I can send you where you'll learn to concentrate." A second meme with King says: "I had a dream but James Earl Ray had a Remington."
Other text messages were too offensive to share, according to local outlets. The texts were obtained from attorney Kimberly Coral, who questioned Gerhard's ability to serve in a predominately minority community.
“I mean it calls into question every single investigation he’s been a part of,” Coral said.
Gerhard admitted to sending the messages but said they were "tongue and cheek" and not racist. He cited that most of the memes are readily available online.
The Mayor's office said they have launched an investigation into the police chief over the messages.
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