Philly cop with Nazi tattoo cleared of wrongdoing

A Philadelphia policeman with a Nazi tattoo on his forearm was cleared of violating department policy by an internal review.

The Philadelphia Police Department announced the review after a photograph surfaced online of an officer, Ian Hans Lichterman, 39, sporting a tattoo that the mayor called “incredibly offensive,” especially to veterans and victims of the Nazis. The tattoo features a spread-winged eagle under the word “Fatherland.”

The review cleared Lichterman of any offense in December, since the department has no official policy on tattoos.

In a statement, Mayor Jim Kenney promised to create a tattoo policy to prevent similar incidents in the future.

“I am deeply offended by the tattoo and I think it is completely inappropriate for any law enforcement officer to have such a tattoo given its impact on those they are sworn to protect and serve,” he said. “Since the investigation determined that the officer couldn’t be dismissed because PPD does not have a policy against tattoos, we will draft such a policy so this cannot happen again.

https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/771216656668299264

The Anti-Defamation League said the images have been associated with some neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups but cautioned they do not necessarily mean the officer shares such ideologies. It said it couldn’t reach any conclusion about the officer after its own initial review of the tattoos and other information available online about the officer.

It was also reported that Lichterman posted photos of himself in Nazi uniform on Instagram and Flickr using the handle “Panzerhund0311.” However, the accounts appear to have been deleted.

On his other arm Lichterman has a tattoo of the US flag.

The photograph first surfaced on social media in September in a Facebook post by Evan Matthews. The Philadelphia resident said he took the picture on July 26 while participating in a protest by the Philly Coalition for REAL Justice held during the Democratic National Convention.

why don't you send that nazi Ian Lichterman to investigate? Since you still have a nazi on your payroll. SAD! pic.twitter.com/gV3rsch21Q

— ▀▄▀▄hora_decubitus▄▀▄▀ (@HoraDecubitus) February 2, 2017

Matthews said his initial reaction was “visceral” and that he questioned the officer about the tattoos, but that the officer did not respond.

The coalition frequently protests against the police department, accusing it of discriminatory practices. Organizer Erica Mines said Friday the organization is calling for the officer to be fired, for an inquiry into his cases, and an investigation into whether the department fosters an environment condoning white supremacy.

The president of the local Fraternal Order of Police lodge, John McNesby, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that the tattoo was “not a big deal.”

“I see people with panthers on their arm. Doesn’t mean they are black panthers. People with crosses on arms doesn’t mean they dislike any other religion,” he told the newspaper.

Nancy Baron-Baer, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said that “it’s not definitive, as an eagle … alone means he is or is not something.”

“One would hope that an individual in that position would understand the significance of what these symbols can mean, even if that’s not what they meant to him,” she said. “Those symbols, to many individuals within our community … can have a very scary connotation and we don’t want our community members being afraid of police based on something they have inscribed on them.”

Baron-Baer said more education is needed among police and the community about the meaning of such symbols.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.