In a press release released on Sep. 2, the Utah Sheriff’s Association shared their frustration with the Salt Lake Tribune. The Sheriff’s Association found a cartoon posted by Pat Bagley on Sep. 1 to be a “divisive piece of journalism as tensions are already high in Utah and across our country.”

The cartoon entitled ‘The Deep Hate’ depicts a physician and a police officer staring at an x-ray. The x-ray shows a skeleton with its bottom half resembling a Ku Klux Klan outfit. The punch line of the cartoon is the doctor saying to the police officer “well, there’s your problem…”

In the press release from the Utah Sheriff’s Association it was stated that “this is not the time for such a prejudicial piece of journalism as law enforcement officers across Utah and across the United States go to work every day to protect communities and do their best to help victims of crime and keep the peace.”

The Sheriff’s Association also shared their frustration with the fact that comments have been disabled saying that Bagley “stopped free speech after enjoying that precious right himself.

They also demanded an apology from Mr. Bagley, saying if he doesn’t apologize he must believe that all members of law enforcement are KKK members. The press release ends by saying that “Mr. Bagley and the Salt Lake Tribune’s silence will speak volumes.”