Cincinnati police officer Eric Weyda was fired over these "pure" and "evil" tattoos. Photo by WLWT5
A Cincinnati cop with an already shaky record may have brought his career in law enforcement to an end after he tattooed the words “pure evil” on his knuckles.
Eric Weyda was released from his job after 16 years on the force in April, four months after a superior officer first noticed his hand tattoos, according to Cincinnati NBC News affiliate WLWT5. The Cincinnati Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but internal records obtained by the news station allegedly show that Weyda was initially reassigned to work with the department’s impound lot in December in an attempt to limit his interactions with the public.
Weyda alleged the tattoos were never meant to convey that he was the one who was pure evil, but instead represented the “struggle” between purity and evil, according to the news station. Regardless of the meaning behind the tattoo, the ink defied department policy that forbids officers from getting tattoos on their hands, as well as on their face, neck, and head.
“Officer Weyda’s tattoos do not promote the professional and neutral image of the Cincinnati Police Department and are injurious to the public trust,” an unnamed Cincinnati police captain wrote in a summary of Weyda’s disciplinary hearing, according to local NBC affiliate WLWT5. “Officer Weyda’s message also has the very real possibility to cause extraordinary damage to police-community relations both locally and nationally.”
Weyda wasn’t exactly in the department’s good graces in recent years. A month before his tattoos were discovered, the department says he was reprimanded for doing a burnout in a police parking lot, according to the news station. He has also been reproached for cursing when responding to calls for assistance, his less-than-stellar attendance rate, and his unsatisfactory annual reviews over the past four years—a far cry from the commendations he received from the department in 2012 and 2013 for his part in investigations and apprehending a suspect.
He was ultimately let go for insubordination and failure of good behavior. While the records mention that Weyda was remorseful about getting the controversial tattoos, he declined to remove them due to the exorbitant cost of doing so.
Weyda is now hoping to get his job back through his local Fraternal Order of Police Lodge.
Eric Weyda was released from his job after 16 years on the force in April, four months after a superior officer first noticed his hand tattoos, according to Cincinnati NBC News affiliate WLWT5. The Cincinnati Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but internal records obtained by the news station allegedly show that Weyda was initially reassigned to work with the department’s impound lot in December in an attempt to limit his interactions with the public.
Weyda alleged the tattoos were never meant to convey that he was the one who was pure evil, but instead represented the “struggle” between purity and evil, according to the news station. Regardless of the meaning behind the tattoo, the ink defied department policy that forbids officers from getting tattoos on their hands, as well as on their face, neck, and head.
“Officer Weyda’s tattoos do not promote the professional and neutral image of the Cincinnati Police Department and are injurious to the public trust,” an unnamed Cincinnati police captain wrote in a summary of Weyda’s disciplinary hearing, according to local NBC affiliate WLWT5. “Officer Weyda’s message also has the very real possibility to cause extraordinary damage to police-community relations both locally and nationally.”
Weyda wasn’t exactly in the department’s good graces in recent years. A month before his tattoos were discovered, the department says he was reprimanded for doing a burnout in a police parking lot, according to the news station. He has also been reproached for cursing when responding to calls for assistance, his less-than-stellar attendance rate, and his unsatisfactory annual reviews over the past four years—a far cry from the commendations he received from the department in 2012 and 2013 for his part in investigations and apprehending a suspect.
He was ultimately let go for insubordination and failure of good behavior. While the records mention that Weyda was remorseful about getting the controversial tattoos, he declined to remove them due to the exorbitant cost of doing so.
Weyda is now hoping to get his job back through his local Fraternal Order of Police Lodge.
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