A social media post from a Maryland police department featuring the image of a suspect in a bank robbery is stirring up even more attention online than intended, or at least the wrong kind of attention — so much so, in fact, that the department decided to abruptly pull the post and replace it with an explanation for why it felt compelled to do so.
After a PNC Bank in Perryville, Maryland was robbed at around 1 p.m. on Tuesday, the local police department posted a notice on its Facebook page that included an image apparently taken from one of the bank’s surveillance cameras.
Before the post was deleted, The New York Post tweeted out its coverage of the story, along with the image included in the Perryville Police Department’s original Facebook post:
Man in blackface robs Maryland bank https://t.co/JN384yw4yF pic.twitter.com/bPqpceK9yx
— New York Post (@nypost) January 30, 2020
“A man in Maryland disguised himself with blackface while robbing a bank, police said,” The New York Post reported Wednesday. “The suspect walked into the PNC Bank in Perryville, a small town near the Delaware border, and robbed the bank by passing a note at about 1 p.m. on Tuesday, local police said.”
“The bank robber, who is white, was wearing a white coat, maroon hat and covered his face with dark paint, authorities said,” the Post reports. Police say the suspect, who is still at large, is “about 5-foot-5 and in his late 20s or early 30s,” the outlet notes.
But, as is apparent in the Post’s report, the Facebook post announcing the robbery and presenting the photo of the white suspect in blackface was pulled down by the police department.
A follow-up post by the department offers an explanation for the its rationale in scrubbing the image from its page — citing “many” “derogatory” and “vulgar” comments posted in response — and pleads with followers to keep things “relevant” going forward.
“In lieu of our recent post and its many comments (some being derogatory and/or vulgar), we have elected to take down/remove the post,” the department explained. “We do appreciate those who had contributed any information in regards to the Bank Robbery. We ask that in future posts regarding a crime that we limit any commenting to relevance of the incident and details. Thank you.”
The explanation has inspired a few responses on the department’s page. “What did you expect? I mean remove the victims from the story and it was comical,” one follower posted. “Pressure from the governor?” another response reads. “Why?” asks another follower.
As noted by Twitchy, the incident has also generated some buzz on Twitter, with some folks offering theories on who the suspect might be, including one much-criticized Democratic governor:
I’m no detective but I would start looking around the Virginia governors mansion for clues. https://t.co/fz7r1VSic2
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) January 30, 2020
Along with Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA) — who apologized for being allegedly featured in a high school photo either in black face or dressed as a member of the Ku Klux Klan and then reversed, questioning whether he was actually in the photo — some Twitterers suggested that maybe the suspect traveled down to the state from Canada.
I’m no snitch, but has anyone seen Justin Trudeau recently https://t.co/R1VgIUG6Zf pic.twitter.com/vbq5a3hYEw
— Harry Khachatrian (@Harry1T6) January 30, 2020
Related: WATCH: Robert Downey Jr. Explains Why He Played Blackface Role In Joe Rogan Interview