The New York Police Department (NYPD) has disciplined an officer caught wearing a “politically-oriented” patch while on-duty after a TikTok video showed her allegedly wearing a patch supportive of former President Donald Trump.
A video posted to TikTok recorded Friday night at a Brooklyn Black Lives Matter demonstration showed the sergeant wearing a “Trump — Make Enforcement Great Again 2020” patch featuring the skull-style emblem of the Marvel character The Punisher, WABC reported.
The officer, whom the New York Post identified as Dana Martillo, also wore a second patch featuring the skull symbol, with its hairstyle tweaked to match the former president’s.
“We are aware of a video showing one of our members wearing a politically oriented patch,” the NYPD said in a statement. “The officer has already received an initial discipline. A further investigation is ongoing.”
NYPD commissioner Dermot Shea tweeted Saturday afternoon that “members of the NYPD must remain apolitical.”
“Members of the NYPD must remain apolitical — it’s essential to public trust & officers’ ability to perform their jobs,” Shea said.