Louisiana Police dept apologizes for blackface yearbook photo

Baton Rouge, La. — The latest blackface scandal involves a Louisiana police department and again, a yearbook photo.

The Baton Rouge Police Department is now apologizing to the community for a photo with two white officers wearing blackface before going undercover in a predominantly black neighborhood. The photo, taken in 1993, was in the Baton Rouge Police Department yearbook, with the caption "Soul Brothers."

Police Chief Murphy Paul, who is black, called blackface "inappropriate and offensive" and said it wouldn't happen in today's society.

Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome also issued a statement condemning the photo.

"Blackface is more than just a costume. It invokes a painful history in this country and it is not appropriate in any situation," she said."

Greg Phares, the police chief at the time, is defending the tactic, saying he had 'no problem' with it and that the officers involved would have been too easily recognized on the streets.