Photos surface of Philly police officer with Nazi tattoo

[NWCorona]

Source: phillyvoice

Photographs depicting a Philadelphia police officer on duty with a Nazi tattoo began circulating on social media late Wednesday night.

The photo appears to show the Nazi Party's partieadler emblem tattooed on the left forearm of an officer identified as Ian Hans Lichterman, 39. The party emblem features an eagle, with outstretched wings, holding a wreath containing a swastika. The photo shows the eagle topped by the word "Fatherland," but it is not clear if the tattoo includes the enwreathed swastika at the bottom, which cannot be seen in the photo.

The photos were posted to Facebook by Evan Parish Matthews, who claimed he took them at a Black Lives Matter march held during the Democratic National Convention. Matthews said Lichterman was one of about 100 officers who blocked an entrance to a major intersection during the march.

Philly Antifa, an antifascist blog, posted several other photos, saying Lichterman previously was outed as a member of the neo-Nazi organization Blood and Honour when several neo-Nazi websites were hacked between 2010 and 2012. The blog claims Lichterman later left the Philadelphia Police Department to take a security job in the Middle East.

Read more: http://www.phillyvoice.com/photos-surface-philly-police-officer-nazi-tattoo/

[arithia]

1. unsurprising.

http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/02/the_hateful_state_pennsylvania.html

Pennsyltucky shelters a lot of bigots and anti-government loonies.

[Iggo]

11. So do police dapartments.

[tblue37]

23. Well, in 2006 the FBI warned about white supremacists deliberately infiltrating law enforcement:

http://thegrio.com/2015/05/12/fbi-white-supremacists-law-enforcement/

Because of intensifying civil strife over the recent killings of unarmed black men and boys, many Americans are wondering, “What’s wrong with our police?” Remarkably, one of the most compelling but unexplored explanations may rest with a FBI warning of October 2006, which reported that “White supremacist infiltration of law enforcement” represented a significant national threat.

Several key events preceded the report. A federal court found that members of a Los Angeles sheriffs department formed a Neo Nazi gang and habitually terrorized the black community. Later, the Chicago police department fired Jon Burge, a detective with reputed ties to the Ku Klux Klan, after discovering he tortured over 100 black male suspects. Thereafter, the Mayor of Cleveland discovered that many of the city police locker rooms were infested with “White Power” graffiti. Years later, a Texas sheriff department discovered that two of its deputies were recruiters for the Klan.

In near prophetic fashion, after the FBI’s warning, white supremacy extremism in the U.S. increased, exponentially. From 2008 to 2014, the number of white supremacist groups, reportedly, grew from 149 to nearly a thousand, with no apparent abatement in their infiltration of law enforcement (emphasis added).

SNIP

[inanna]

25. Very disturbing. n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

2. Cue the Philadelphia FOP

John McNesby, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, said of the photo: "I've seen it. It's an Eagle. Not a big deal."

"City not concerned neither are we," McNesby wrote in a text message. "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."

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20160902_FOP_leader__Philly_police_officer_s_apparent_Nazi-style_tattoo__not_a_big_deal_.html

Mkay.

The person who tweeted the picture mentioned in the OP has a feed that is interesting (no, she does not appear to be a POC) - https://twitter.com/mindyisser/status/771310049008300032/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

There's a comment comparing this cop displaying the tattoo to Kaepernick's protest.

[Octafish]

3. It's not like he's an active NAZI or anything.

Other than that, the guy is just like everybody else.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. I think that is the question given the issues

that this department has had in the past with some of their white officers.

I think what was also being questioned was why the gap in service-

According to city payroll records, an officer whose name is spelled Ian Lichterman joined the Police Department in April 2000 but left in August 2002. In May 2003 he returned, records show, and his current salary as a police officer is about $72,000. It was not immediately clear why the records show a gap in his service.

Lichterman hung up on a reporter when reached on his cellphone Thursday.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20160902_FOP_leader__Philly_police_officer_s_apparent_Nazi-style_tattoo__not_a_big_deal_.html

Here is some more - http://www.phillymag.com/news/2016/09/01/philly-cop-nazi-tattoo/ ...which has a link to a site with this interesting tidbit -

<...>

Those of our readers who have been Anti-Fascists for a few years may remember that during a period from 2010-2012 there were several successful hacks of Neo-Nazi websites that led to the identification of dozens of Neo-Nazis and White Nationalists.

One of the more interesting cases was that of Ian Hans Lichterman. Lichterman was listed as a member of Blood and Honour, an international network of Neo-Nazi organizations started by Ian Stuart Donaldson, the lead singer of Skrewdriver. Upon some investigating, it was discovered that Lichterman was also a Philly PD officer who had even recently been commended at a crime stoppers awards ceremony.

Shortly after the hack, Lichterman left the Philly PD and was working as a private security contractor (mercenary) in the middle east for some time, presumably using his connections from his time as a Marine. Recently, at the Philly Coalition for REAL Justice’s march during the DNC, someone noticed that one of the bike cops working the event had some shady tattoos. That cop has been identified as Ian Lichterman, back on duty in Philly.

<...>

https://phillyantifa.noblogs.org/post/2016/09/01/philly-police-officer-outed-as-white-supremacist-with-ties-to-blood-and-honour/

[NWCorona]

9. I know right? Look at the reformed David Duke lol!

[awoke_in_2003]

12. Wow

"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."

So they are going to characterize Nazism as a like/dislike thing?

[LakeArenal]

5. This is truly frightening

[jtuck004]

6. Free. Speech.

Until it crosses the line to behavior.

[awoke_in_2003]

13. I just bet...

he treats PoC with respect I know it is a free speech thing, but free speech protections doesn't guarantee him a job serving people he hates.

[jtuck004]

19. At least he wears a warning. I prefer that to the two-faced people I meet every day that

have no tattoos, but pay him to beat people up for them.

Just plain old citizens.

[awoke_in_2003]

20. I, too, like my racists out in the open

but I also don't want them in a position of authority

[Iggo]

7. Some of those that work forces...

[Loki]

8. The SPLC has been warning about this for quite some time now.

White Nationalists and Skin Heads infiltrating the Armed Services and police departments. Guess no one was paying attention. #NotSurprised.

[NWCorona]

10. Bingo! People don't think about the threat because these guys names seem friendly.

[demmiblue]

14. This is just so vile. n/t

[mark67]

15. It's really simple...

...if he's claims that he is reformed he should have the tattoos inked over and his performance records need to be scrutinized as well as his professional and personal affiliations. You can privately be a racist and still be a professional and get the job done. I served in the military with guys like that.

True story: when I was in army accessions an applicant was referred to me with a tattoo of Adolf Hitler on his shoulder. When I asked him about it, he told me it was a tattoo of his grandfather who happened to have a striking resemblance to the "Fuhrer." Eventually we turned him away but my commander joked that he should just ink in Larry and Curly inked in on both sides of the tattoo.

[demmiblue]

16. "You can privately be a racist and still be a professional and get the job done."

Um, no.

One's true self will always win over. You may not always see the evidence or repercussions of said person's racism, but it will always color the way they act and the way they think.

As far as professionalism in the US Military is concerned, let's just ask the women troops who are sexually abused and assaulted at an astounding rate by their fellow "professional" colleagues.

[mark67]

24. It probably depends on the type of unit

I served in combat arms unit. No women assigned...and yes, there were plenty of closet racists in the ranks who knew they'd be hammered if they ever uttered one word to that effect...

[Unit 001]

17. Standards for law enforcement are so very low

Any racist, hateful imbecile can become a deputy where I live.

[Tree-Hugger]

18. Not surprised

Typical for Philly, moreso than people think.

[backscatter712]

21. I wouldn't make any specific suggestions for neo-Nazi cops...

Best to stick with general advice that's good for all Nazis.

I'll just leave this here...

[Iggo]

22. Plus uno.