KNOXVILLE, Tenn — One Knoxville Police officer has resigned and another has been disciplined after posting a Halloween photo of a child depicting the Forrest Gump character Bubba in blackface.
KPD launched an internal investigation after Officers Todd MacFaun and Leah Miller, who are white, appeared in the photo that depicted four people wearing Gump-themed costumes. Miller is his fiance. Both of them posted the photo on their personal social media accounts, though the posts were later deleted.
WBIR has seen screenshots of the post but will not be sharing those images.
Both officers were temporarily reassigned and prohibited from working secondary employment during the investigation.
According to KPD, the children pictured in the photo are Officer MacFaun’s two daughters. The family said they had recently watched the movie “Forrest Gump” and decided to dress as characters from the movie for Halloween. The two children were dressed as the characters Bubba and Lt. Dan from the movie.
Both officers told investigators that "they were unaware of the potentially offensive and racially insensitive nature of the costumes, and that they never intended to harm or offend anyone," according to a statement from KPD.
They said the Bubba costume involving blackface was not racially motivated and wasn't intended to represent an offensive historically racial stereotype. Both apologized, took responsibility for their actions, and expressed regret for any harm the photo might have caused.
Both officers were found to have violated KPD's Code of Conduct regarding the use of social media.
"Though it was apparent that Officers MacFaun and Miller did not have malicious intentions, the costume reflected poor judgment, was entirely inappropriate given the long history of the use of blackface to oppress and stereotype the black community and has no place in society," the KPD statement read.
Officer Miller resigned from KPD in December, before the investigation was complete.
Officer MacFaun remains employed at the KPD. He was issued a written reprimand by Chief Eve Thomas, which will remain permanently in his personnel file. He will also receive additional cultural bias training. He has now returned to his previous assignment in the Organized Crime Unit.
The KPD statement said that when determining the appropriate disciplinary action, officials took into account MacFaun’s exemplary performance history at the KPD, his genuine acceptance of responsibility and public apology, and his commitment to learn and grow from this experience.
“I was disappointed in the severe lapse in judgment shown by Officers MacFaun and Miller that resulted in the public depiction of blackface, which should deeply offend us all. Though their actions were done only in the spirit of Halloween, those actions were hurtful and insensitive. I will not tolerate, accept or condone offensive or racially-insensitive behavior of any kind," said Chief Thomas in a statement.
“Officer MacFaun has accepted responsibility for his actions, shown an understanding of the painful history evoked by the depiction of blackface, and acknowledged the need to learn from this experience. We feel confident that Officer MacFaun will learn from this, receive the appropriate training, and continue to be an outstanding public servant.”