Officer's tattoo causes chief to 'question his ability to function effectively'

A Chapel Hill police officer has been put on paid leave following questions about a tattoo on his forearm of the Roman numeral three encircled with stars.

“The pervasiveness of the concerns raised by many regarding his display of a tattoo that is associated with the ‘3 Percenters’ has caused the Department to question his ability to function effectively as a police officer within this community,” Police Chief Chris Blue said in a statement.

The Three Percenters is an organization the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as “antigovernment.” It has dozens of chapters nationwide and describes its goal as “to utilize the fail-safes put in place by our founders to reign (sic) in an overreaching government and push back against tyranny.”

The group eschews the labels “antigovernment” and “militia,” instead characterizing its members as “America’s insurance policy.” Members frequently show up in military-style gear at rallies with other far-right groups, such as Patriot Prayer events in Portland, Oregon; the Unite the Right rally last year in Charlottesville, Virginia; and a standoff with the federal government over a rancher’s grazing fees in Bunkerville, Nevada.

Read more: https://www.heraldsun.com/news/local/article217573000.html


The tattoo in question has 12 stars encircling the Roman numeral three whereas the Three Percenter logo has 13. Screenshot from Twitter.