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A Missouri cop has been placed on unpaid leave after appearing in a “cop lives matter” video on YouTube.
St Joseph patrolman Zackary Craft appeared in Kansas City rapper Josh Smith’s video "Before This Bomb Blows Up (Racism Goes Both Ways).” Patrolman Craft can be seen reaching for his gun and holding a "cops lives matter" sign in the 3:27 minute video.
Mr Smith, who goes by the rap moniker of J Smitty, said that he removed the video when the officer was suspended last week and reposted it with his face blurred, the Associated Press reports.
Mr Craft's attorney Morgan Roach told the news agency that the officer allowed himself to be filmed without knowing the “without knowing the words, content, or context” and was “appalled” when he finally saw the video.
The video features "J Smitty" holding viral social justice-style white boards that read: F**k Jessie Jackson, F**k Al Sharpton, Why Can't I Say N***er Too?, Slavery Wasn't My Fault." Mr Smith can also be seen spitting on framed images of Al Sharpton and setting photos of President Barack Obama on fire.
Police spokesman Captain Jeff Wilson told the AP that the department “in no way condones the video.”
