In the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association newspaper, Pax Centurion, is a cartoon of President Obama dressed as a superhero dubbed “Obama Dog.'' According to the Boston Globe, another page shows a picture of the First Couple, their left hands over their hearts, instead of their right, as they salute the flag. “Americans?!? Are they really?!?'' blares the headline above the photo. The newspaper has upset several minority officers, who say the jokes against Obama and his wife go too far and are offensive. Dozens of officers, most of them black and Latino, have written a letter to the paper's editors complaining that the paper is failing to represent them with such content, which shows “the poorest of taste.''
James Carnell, managing editor of Pax Centurion, said the pieces were contributed by union members, whose politics trend to the right. “Our members do tend to be on the conservative end, and we allow editorial expression from our members,'' he said. Although Pax Centurion has printed many positive stories about minorities, Larry Ellison, president of the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers, said the Obama jokes could be construed as racist and that Pax Centurion has a long history of taking shots at women and minorities. “There is a very huge racial divide in the department, and a lot of it has to do with'' Pax Centurion, Ellison said.