State police investigate shooting target at Western Maryland range that some say adds ‘fuel to the fire’ of distrust

The Maryland State Police are investigating the use of a shooting target possibly depicting a man of color on a Western Maryland range after an anonymous complaint earlier this month, officials said.

Agency spokeswoman Elena Russo did not describe the nature of the complaint that sparked the investigation, but confirmed that a photo obtained by The Baltimore Sun is the same as the one that prompted the state police probe.

The shooting target in the photo, which is raising concerns among some Black troopers and advocacy groups, is in color, unlike targets that feature black or white silhouettes of people. The person is depicted as cartoonish, with curly black hair, reddish-brown skin, a brown shirt and green pants, and holding a gun pointed at the individual who is using the target. The target also appears to be wearing a bulletproof vest.

Some see it as intended to depict a Black person, while others see a person of Middle Eastern descent.

“It’s hard to believe that in 2022, law enforcement agencies are still using pictures like this, of people of color or Muslims at shooting ranges,” said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, the deputy executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, who said he saw it as an image of Muammar Gaddafi, the late Libyan dictator. “The fear is that this reinforces in the minds of law enforcement the notion that Muslims and people of color are dangerous, are the enemy.”

The state police said in an emailed statement that an investigation was launched immediately after an anonymous complaint came in Sept. 16. It is being conducted by the state police, along with investigators from the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, it said.

The agency added that the range in Cumberland is state-owned, used by “multiple” law enforcement agencies and not open to the public.

One trooper, who requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation, described the image as close to blackface. He said it makes him question how other troopers see their peers of color.

“Do they just tolerate us because we wear the uniform?” the trooper said. “Is this how these officers out there in Western Maryland really feel toward African Americans?”

He added that images like the one used in the shooting target add “fuel to the fire” of distrust between police and the Black community.

Sgt. Anthony Alexander, the president of the Coalition of Black Maryland State Troopers, said Tuesday that the image could be offensive and set back efforts to build community trust. He said he wanted to await the results of the investigation, but questioned why people at the range from the state police and other agencies didn’t take action more quickly.

“We have to trust each other in order to do our jobs,” he said. “This hurts us, and this hurts everybody. It’s just no place for it.”

Mitchell, from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy group, said one concern would be that images like this could reinforce subconscious biases of officers, which is “not a chance you want to take.”

Plus, it doesn’t help build strong relationships with local communities.

“If you’re an Arab American, or a Libyan American, or a Muslim American, and you find out the police are using someone who looks like you for target practice, it’s a little disturbing and disconcerting,” Mitchell said.

The state police department is already under a U.S. Department of Justice investigation looking at whether the agency racially discriminated in its hiring and promotions, officials said in July.

The U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Erek L. Barron, said in an interview at the time that the investigation came after years of complaints of racial discrimination by Black troopers. The allegations, he said, would be concerning for any employer, but particularly from law enforcement officers “who we’re trusting to make a lot of important decisions.”

Barron added in a July interview: “How you conduct your own house is going to be reflective of how you interface with the community and your roles and responsibilities to the public.”

Word of the investigation followed reports in June about an explicit challenge coin with the agency’s logo and offensive language. The coin showed two images of female anatomy, including a graphic depiction of genitalia, with slogans referencing people being offended. One side, with an image of a woman’s rear end, included underwear with the message “I’m Offended.”

A state police investigation found that the coin had been created by an ex-employee. The force’s superintendent said at the time he was “disgusted” that anyone who wore the agency’s uniform would create something that “demeans others and disregards our core values.”

Other agencies have come under fire for the images used on targets.

The chief of Michigan’s Farmington Hills Police Department apologized this summer after allegations that the agency used only targets of Black men at the range. And law enforcement officers at a school shooter drill in North Carolina reportedly used the image of a man wearing Middle Eastern clothing, including a headscarf, and holding an assault weapon.

The state trooper who asked to speak anonymously said Black troopers at the agency are tired.

“What point do you say enough is enough?” he asked.

He said the agency’s current administration doesn’t seem to be addressing issues and the governor should step in.

“The next time I go to in-service [training], I’m going to walk in with my hands up and say, ‘Hey, y’all. Don’t shoot me,’” the trooper said.

“A forward-thinking agency that believes in change would come out and say they came across this and that they’re disgusted, just as we are, and they’re doing everything they can to find out who did it and to bring justice,” he added. “That’s what you would say if you really believe what you are saying.”