MERRILLVILLE, Ind. (AP) — A northwest Indiana City Council member and police officer has apologized after photos of him in blackface at a past Halloween party recently surfaced.
Merrillville Councilman Jeff Minchuk, who is also a Lake County Sheriff’s Department police officer, apologized on Facebook.
One photo of Minchuk, obtained by The (Northwest Indiana) Times, shows Minchuck in blackface and a black wig and wearing a shirt reading “Kill Whitey.” He is standing next to a person dressed in a white Ku Klux Klan robe.
The photos were reportedly taken around 2003.
Minchuk said the costumes were a poor decision based on a sketch from “The Dave Chappelle Show.” He added that the photos were never intended to be racist.