The anti-law enforcement sentiment in America has gotten so bad that someone in Jacksonville, Florida dressed up a mannequin with a pig face in a New York Police Department uniform. They then hung the mannequin from I-95 around 6 a.m.
Lamont Ross and his wife, Keva, came around the corner on I-95 and saw the mannequin. At first they thought they saw the body of someone who had committed suicide.
"At first I thought it was a body and my heart – our heart – completely dropped," he said. The pair, who work as medical transportation drivers, turned around to help what they thought was a person."
When the couple got to the overpass they filmed the video of what they saw.
"It was totally unacceptable. We had to turn around. We was coming to assist, you know what I'm saying?" Ross asked. "We finna [sic] take it down."
Keva said she was in tears when she saw the mannequin.
"It was sad just to see something like that in person. Just terrifying. I was praying to God it wasn't really a body, which it wasn't, so that was a great thing," she said, taking a deep breath. "It was a big relief."
Jacksonville/Duval County Sheriff Mike Williams said his agency is committed to finding the perpetrator and this kind of action against law enforcement won't be tolerated or accepted.
"Both the tactics and props used were a deliberate attempt to exasperate an anti-police sentiment and drive a divide in our community," Williams said in a statement. "This incident was carried out by people wanting to undermine our dedicated efforts to keep our city safe. Too many good citizens are working with us to keep our community safe through active partnerships, and frank conversations about the challenges we all face. This type of act will not be tolerated by our agency or our community, and we will work together to hold those responsible accountable.”
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Other residents were disgusted by the move.
"We don't have no right to do that, man. I don't think it's time to taunt the police. I think it's time to come and bridge the gap," a black man said.
We are working to come together & invoke change & growth in our community. We won’t let an appalling & disturbing act like this derail our progress. I won’t tolerate actions like this so blatantly meant to intimidate our police nor will I stand for it against any citizen. https://t.co/MA64hvVuR0
— Lenny Curry (@lennycurry) June 20, 2020
An investigation is still ongoing. Those with information are encouraged to call the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500 or email them at JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org.
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