(Jewish Group) A Walla Walla police officer has a Nazi-style tattoo. A synagogue there wants apology

[Behind the Aegis]

A Walla Walla police officer has a Nazi-style tattoo. A synagogue there wants the department to apologize for defending him.

A synagogue in Walla Walla, Washington, is calling on the town’s police department to apologize for defending an officer who sports a tattoo resembling the insignia of the SS, the feared Nazi paramilitary force.

“The WWPD’s response has been reactionary and defensive, eroding the trust of our community,” said the letter posted Wednesday by Congregation Beth Israel. “We would like a public apology from the WWPD, Chief Bieber, and Officer Small, acknowledging our concerns about the symbol’s history and their dismissal of its connection to genocide.”

Nathan Small is the officer who sports the tattoo, a relic of his service in the U.S. Marines. His sniper unit in Afghanistan adopted the insignia until the military brass shut it down in 2012. The unit said it thought the symbol represented as two lightning bolts stood for “sniper scouts” and was not aware of its Nazi origins.

Photos of the tattoo appeared last week on social media. The police department posted a defense of Small’s tattoo on its Facebook page, noting his service. Following expressions of outrage, the department said it understood the connotations of the symbol and said that Small wears long-sleeved shirts to cover it.

more...

[MosheFeingold]

1. No apology is necessary here

It's like a Hindu wearing a swastika. No, he's not a Nazi.

I'm tired of all the deference to the white supremacist losers' use of symbols.

The "OK" symbol is not "OK" anymore because some dimwits use it? Please.

Just ignore those morons.

This guy was a Marine sniper. They have a similar symbol. That's it.

[Sewa]

2. Are you serious?!

What, because he was a member of a neo-Nazi marine unit he gets a pass.

Why do you think the Marine Corp banded it’s use?