By Lucas Green-
An irresponsible police officer from Cincinnati in Ohio, has been fired from his department after having the words ‘Pure Evil’ tattooed across his fingers.
Former officer Eric Weyda violated department policy when he had the words written in red and black ink, violating the rule that prohibits tattoos on the face, neck, head and hands.
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Department policy prohibits tattoos on the face, neck, head and hands.
The idea itself suggests that the officer is pure evil and should not be trusted as a representative of the law enforcement in the U.S. He was astonishingly irresponsible in his decision to get the tattoo.
After superiors noticed his ink, Weyda was reassigned to the impound lot to ‘limit his public exposure’, however is said to have refused to have the tattoos removed.
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The department determined the message on his hands had ‘the very real possibility to cause extraordinary damage to police community relations both locally and nationally’, and as a result he was fired for insubordination and failure of good behaviour approximately four months after superiors first noticed his tattoos.
Weyda record was far from impeccable. He was dismissed from the department for insubordination and failure of good behavior in late April, four months after his superiors noticed his new hand tattoo.
Department policy prohibits tattoos on the face, neck, head and hands.
CPD internal records show after getting the tattoo, Weyda was reassigned to the impound lot “to limit his public exposure.”
Cincinnati police leadership wrote, “Officer Weyda’s tattoos are a violation that is ongoing and permanent. Additionally, Officer Weyda’s tattoos do not promote the professional and neutral image of the Cincinnati Police Department and are injurious to the public trust.”
In a summary of Weyda’s disciplinary hearing, a CPD captain wrote, “Weyda showed remorsefulness for obtaining the tattoo and acknowledged a lack of discretion since he obtained the tattoo in December 2021. Furthermore, Officer Weyda stated, like all of his tattoos, his hand tattoo has a personal message to him, and the words ‘pure evil’ should not be observed as one message. Officer Weyda explained the words “pure” and “evil” are separate from each other and the words themselves have separate meanings.”
The summary goes on to say Weyda explained to the Internal Investigations Section the tattoo is meant to represent a “struggle between good and evil.”
The police captain also wrote that “Officer Weyda’s message also has the very real possibility to cause extraordinary damage to police community relations both locally and nationally.”
During his disciplinary hearing, police records show Weyda said he would not have the tattoos removed due to the cost of cosmetic surgery.
FOP President Dan Hils released the following statement: “The FOP represents all Cincinnati police officers when they participate in the grievance process outlined in our collective bargaining agreement. Every officer is entitled to a fair hearing and that’s what will take place here.”
A month before Weyda was reassigned for his tattoo, he was “counseled” for doing a burnout in his personal vehicle in the district 3 parking lot. Over his 16 year career with the department, he was disciplined for other reasons including absenteeism and using coarse language on calls.
He received commendations in 2012 and in 2013 for investigative skills and apprehending a suspect with a gun.
Explaining the decision, Weyda’s superiors said: “Officer Weyda’s tattoos are a violation that is ongoing and permanent. Additionally, Officer Weyda’s tattoos do not promote the professional and neutral image of the Cincinnati Police Department and are injurious to the public trust.”
The officer is said to have ‘showed remorsefulness for obtaining the tattoo and acknowledged a lack of discretion since he obtained the tattoo in December 2021’, according to a summary of his disciplinary hearing cited by WLWT News, and he claimed the words should not be considered as a phrase, but instead as two separate entities.
“Officer Weyda stated, like all of his tattoos, his hand tattoo has a personal message to him, and the words ‘pure evil’ should not be observed as one message. Officer Weyda explained the words ‘pure’ and ‘evil’ are separate from each other and the words themselves have separate meanings,” the summary explained.
Weyda told investigators the tattoo was meant to represent a ‘struggle between good and evil’.
Following his dismissal, the Fraternal Order of Police – the police union – agreed to represent Weyda to help him try and get the decision overturned.
Union President Dan Hils commented: “The FOP represents all Cincinnati police officers when they participate in the grievance process outlined in our collective bargaining agreement.
“Every officer is entitled to a fair hearing and that’s what will take place here.”
Prior to his reassignment to the impound lot, Weyda was ‘counselled’ for a month for a previous incident in his car in a police station car park, and had also been disciplined throughout his career for being absent and using coarse language when answering calls for assistance, among other reasons.
The officer had also received his worst-ever marks in an annual review in 2020, at which point he was told he needed to improve his compliance in numerous areas including policies and procedures, customer service, grooming and dress and teamwork.
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