A Twitter account run by the Indianapolis police department used the hashtag #WeCanBreathe on Thursday in apparent mockery of people protesting the chokehold death of an unarmed black New York City man.
The Indianapolis Star newspaper reported on Friday that officer Kendale Adams took responsibility for posting the tweet to the @IMPD_News account. It was eventually deleted but the Star managed to capture this image of it:
The hashtag, posted in response to a critical comment about two arrests police made during a protest in Indianapolis, was a play on the final words of Eric Garner, the man killed in New York: “I can’t breathe.”
Demonstrators across the nation have used the phrase as a mantra this week in protesting a grand jury’s decision not to indict the New York City police officer who killed Garner.
Adams reportedly posted an apology to Twitter and spoke to the Star about the incident.
“Our intent was not what people are jumping on the bandwagon for,” Adams said. “Our issue has nothing to do with Eric Garner. As an African-American officer, why would I touch that issue?”
“We don’t have a doctorate in Twitter,” Adams said. “We’re learning. That was a learning opportunity. We apologize.”
h/t Raw Story
