The Black Police Association said the coin was going to be sold to officers after an officer designed and created it.
DALLAS — Dallas police Chief Eddie Garcia and union officials on Wednesday decried a racist “challenge” coin a police officer created that negatively depicted a southern Dallas neighborhood.
The coin – which was commemorating the 15-year anniversary of the Dallas Police Department’s South Central patrol division – depicted a Pillsbury Dough Boy holding cash and a gun as he stands behind an apparent drug house. The Dough Boy was also wearing a grill, and the coin featured a Dallas police car on one side and a purple car with large rims on the other.
“Big ‘T’ Plaza” was written across the top of the coin. The plaza is a shopping center in South Oak Cliff.
Garcia in a statement called the coin “insensitive and racially offensive.”
“I know that this coin, and what it depicts, does not represent the beliefs or ideals of the men and women of the Dallas Police Department as a whole,” Garcia said. “We will not tolerate this type of conduct.”
Garcia did not name the officer who created the coin, which was posted on social media “to canvass our membership for interest” in possibly buying the coin.
The officer’s chain of command was notified, and police officials are dealing with the issue “swiftly and sharply as this is not the standard for our department moving forward,” Garcia said.
The officer was placed on administrative leave as internal affairs investigates the issue.
The city’s Black Police Association first raised concerns over the coin Wednesday, calling the depiction racist.
Garcia held a news conference with the association at 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Mike Mata, president of the Dallas Police Association, called the coin “in very poor taste” and that it “had no business being on the DPA members page,” where it was posted this week.
Mata said he “immediately” deleted the coin post from the page when he became aware of it.
“I understand it’s my responsibility to maintain the moral compass of the DPA members page,” Mata said. “In saying, I want to apologize to any person who was hurt or offended by the post and I promise to be more diligent in my duties to ensure that this organization and the media sites within it respect all members.”