Chicago Police Officers to be Reprimanded for Kneeling in Instagram Photo

CHICAGO -- A Chicago activist who apparently asked two "men of color" to kneel with her on social media may have inadvertently earned the police officers reprimands, officials said Monday.

Aleta Clark, who goes by the name "englewoodbarbie," on Instagram wrote on Sunday: That Moment when you walk into the police station and ask the Men of Color are they Against Police Brutality and Racism & they say Yes... then you ask them if they support Colin Kapernick... and they also say yes... then you ask them to Kneel.!"

The photo had more than 1,700 likes as of Monday night — mostly comments of support, although some users wrote things such as "Trump gonna get dem fired," a reference to President Donald Trump saying at a campaign rally in Alabama that owners should fire players who refuse to stand for the national anthem as a means of protest. Trump also used a tweet to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to demand he "Tell them to stand!"

About 200 NFL players sat, knelt or raised their fists in defiance during the national anthem Sunday. The protests started more than a year ago when former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand during the anthem as a protest of police treatment of minorities.

Anthony Guglielmi, spokesman for the Chicago Police Department, said the department was not identifying the officers. In an email response to the Tribune's questions about Clark's post, Guglielmi said, "we are aware of the photo and we will address it in the same way we have handled previous incidents in which officers have made political statements while in uniform, with a reprimand and a reminder of department policies."

The Police Department's rules of conduct prohibit political activity on duty.

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