State Representative Dustin Burrows called out an editorial cartoon that was published Monday which depicts the idea of a police officer shooting or threatening to shoot a child in the back. 

Burrows did not mention the Lubbock Avalanche Journal by name but said “today’s local paper” printed a political cartoon that was published atop the AJ’s editorial page.

The cartoon appears to be syndicated from Rob Rogers and Andrews McMeel Syndication. 

In the cartoon, the child appears to be African American.  The caption says, “Meanwhile, far from the border children are being separated from their families.”

The cartoon does not depict a bullet or a smoking gun. It does depict an officer pointing a gun at a child’s back. 

State Representative Burrows wrote on Facebook, “This cartoon is not funny and is irresponsible. It perpetuates a false narrative that could not be further from the truth.” 

KLBK and EverythingLubbock.com reached out to the Avalanche Journal’s vice president of audience development and its regional publisher to invite comment. The regional publisher, Robert Granfeldt, indicated that the AJ would have a response in Tuesday’s morning’s paper.  

The full social media statement from Burrows is as follows: 

A political cartoon appeared in today’s local paper on the top of the Opinion page. It depicts a police officer shooting a child of color, in the back, and references that ‘far from the border . . . .children are being separated from their families.’ This cartoon is not funny and is irresponsible. It perpetuates a false narrative that could not be further from the truth.

Compare this cartoon with what we saw a couple of weeks ago when our law enforcement responded to a water gun fight. The body cam footage from that incident shows men and women in uniform being disrespected and attacked by some of the neighborhood participants. Rather than escalate the situation, these officers showed discipline, courage and restraint by not allowing the situation to become worse. While these actions don’t normally grab the headlines, they typify the training and professionalism of our police forces.

Today, I am going to take a few moments and thank a few of the men and women who wear the badge. They deserve our respect and appreciations . . . and, they do not hear it enough. Please join me in doing the same.

The Lubbock Professional Police Association statement reads:

This cartoon is a continuation of the false narrative that police officers disproportionately use deadly force against unarmed minorities.

This narrative has been disproven time-and again at the Local, State, and Federal level. Yet the media continues to tout this as the truth.

This cartoon continues the same trend of bad taste and anti-law enforcement bias that has pervaded the media for the last several years.

The actions of one officer used to paint an entire profession in the same light is grossly inappropriate and unprofessional. If the same conduct were used against a different profession or members of a particular race or ethnic group there would be outrage, and rightfully so.

The actions of the officer in Pittsburgh will be evaluated according to the laws of the United States of America, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Departmental policy. Decisions in this country, and in this profession, are based on law and not on emotion. Lubbock Professional Police Association