Mannequin dressed in police uniform with pig mask found hanging from overpass in Florida
(WJXT/CNN/Meredith) — Investigators are looking for the person who hung a mannequin dressed like a police officer from an overpass in Jacksonville, Florida.
The sheriff said it’s disturbing, and the head of the City’s Fraternal order of police said it’s an act of hate that does not reflect the values of the community.
Witnesses who saw the dummy hanging by its neck also said it was disturbing.
Lamont Ross, a Jacksonville resident, said he when first saw the mannequin, he thought it was a real body and his “heart completely dropped.”
Ross captured video of the hanging mannequin, dressed in a police uniform with a pig’s head.
Ross’ wife Kiva Ross was with her husband when they saw the mannequin.
“I was in tears. I was like trembling. It was sad just to see something like that in person, it was just terrifying,” Kiva Ross said. “I was praying to God it wasn’t really a body, which it wasn’t, so that was a great thing. It was a big relief.”
Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams called the incident extremely disturbing and released the following statement:
“The incident that occurred this morning depicting the mock lynching of a mannequin dressed in what appeared to be the uniform of a law enforcement officer is extremely disturbing. Both the tactics and props used were a deliberate attempt to exasperate an anti-police sentiment and drive a divide in our community. 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.”
Police are still searching for the person who hung the dummy. Detectives said the mannequin will be processed for DNA.
Photo Credit: kmov.com/Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office