University of Missouri police officer fired after blackface picture resurfaces

A police officer at the University of Missouri was fired after a photo of him in blackface from last year resurfaced.

The image of former officer Marcus Collins was sent anonymously to the university on Tuesday and Collins was subsequently fired shortly after admitting he was the individual in the photo, according to the Columbia Daily Tribune.

The image shows Collins in blackface dressed like rapper Flavor Flav, who, like Collins in the picture, typically wears a large clock on a chain around his neck.

{mosads}The undated photo was reportedly taken prior to Collins’s hiring in January of 2018. Collins appears to have taken the picture of himself in a mirror.

“Racism, hate and insensitive behavior have no place on our campus,” University of Missouri Chancellor Alexander Cartwright said in a statement to the local news outlet. “We are committed to our values of respect, responsibility, discovery and excellence, and to making our campus a place where everyone feels welcome and protected.”

Photos of public officials or prominent figures in blackface have been resurfacing frequently in recent months, sparked by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s (D) medical school yearbook page containing an image of an individual in blackface makeup.

The Baton Rouge Police Department last month apologized after a previous photo of two officers posing in blackface resurfaced.