Investigation: Shooting range target not used in ‘racially-motivated manner’
An offensive target at a state-owned shooting range that sparked investigations earlier this year came from the federal prison system more than 15 years ago and wasn’t used in a “racially-motivated manner,” according to Maryland’s Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.
The agency said in a Thursday statement that an administrative investigation into the target found it was provided by the Federal Bureau of Prisons — Cumberland, a medium-security correctional institution in Western Maryland, in about 2005. It was used periodically for less-than-lethal force instruction until about 2021.
The target was both “openly displayed” and in storage, the statement said, though its “last known use” was in 2021. It’s not clear where the target was when it prompted a complaint in mid-September, but the statement said it was “observed” during a state police qualification course on Sept. 16.
“The DPSCS investigation concluded that there is no evidence that it was used or displayed in a racially-motivated manner,” spokeswoman Latoya Gray said in the emailed statement. “While there may have been no complaint of the target offending anyone prior to the report of 9/16/22, the target is nevertheless an offensive characterization from a dated era.”
Gray added that the target “should have been removed from the property and disposed of,” and that the firearms training program now includes contemporary designs.
The statement said it was provided about three years ago to a Cumberland range used by multiple agencies for firearms training and qualifications.
The agency did not immediately respond to a question about what administrative action, if any, was taken. The statement said the Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commissions, which oversees training operations, took “administrative steps to assure the most professional and inclusive training environment for all staff.” Those steps were not specified.
It’s also not clear whether the investigation identified what or who the target was meant to depict.
The target that prompted a complaint to Maryland State Police is a color image of a cartoonish person with curly black hair and reddish-brown skin, holding a gun pointed at the individual using the target. It appears to be wearing a bulletproof vest.
Some interpreted the image as a person of Middle Eastern descent, while others saw a depiction of a Black person. At least one person believed it was an image of Moammar Gadhafi, the late Libyan dictator.
Critics called the target “disturbing and disconcerting” for people it might be intended to represent.
The state police previously said its separate investigation into the target found it was not used, purchased or manufactured by a state police employee.