A uniformed police officer was photographed wearing a pro-Trump mask at a polling location in Miami Tuesday, sparking accusations of voter intimidation.
A photo of the officer spread widely on Twitter Tuesday afternoon, prompting concerns about a partisan display from police at the polls.
Steve Simeonidis, chair of the Miami-Dade Democrats, captured the photo at an early polling station in downtown Miami, NBC Miami reports.
The image shows an officer in a Miami Police Department uniform and a facemask that reads: “Trump 2020” and “No more bulls–t.”
“This is city funded voter intimidation,” Simeonidis wrote in his tweet. He called for the officer to be suspended immediately.
The officer has been identified as Daniel Ubeda, based on the last name shown on his uniform, according to the Miami Herald.
“This behaviour is unacceptable, a violation of departmental policy, and is being addressed immediately,” the Miami Police Department said in a statement.
Mayor Francis Suarez said the officer would be disciplined, though it’s unclear what that will entail.
“It’s inappropriate,” Suarez said. “A police officer is supposed to be impartial, irrespective who the person was, whatever sign it is.”
Suarez says the officer was at the polling station to vote. It’s unclear if he was on duty at the time.
Poll workers, partisan poll watchers and security are prohibited from wearing campaign-related material at polling stations in Florida.
The state is expected to be one of several electoral battlegrounds in the race between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden.
Trump has frequently backed police in the face of anti-brutality and anti-racism protests in recent months.
The president has also declared himself the “law and order” candidate in the election, while stoking unfounded fears of far-left violence and refusing to condemn far-right militias.
Early voting opened on Monday ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
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