A pictures of firefighters donning sombreros and mustaches in front of a taco stand at a charity event swiftly caused a ruckus on social media sites. The picture, posted June 6 by Los Angeles Fire Chief Brian Cummings, showed the chief and three fireman standing beside him sporting the stereotypically Mexican garb, the Daily Mail reported. Cummings apologized for posting the photo Wednesday, calling it "insensitive."
"I sincerely apologize for any insensitivity or disrespect to anyone offended by posing for the photo from the Hope for Firefighters event," he said in a tweet.
Cummings also removed the photo following the complaints. Yvonne Griffin, who takes photographs for the department, also removed the photo from her site. Battalion Chief Armando Hogan said of the photo and the event that some participants chose to wear attire inspired by the food they were serving as it was part of a costume contest going on at the event, the Los Angeles Times reported. He plans to meet with the community to discuss the issue.
"The chief plans to meet with community members so that we establish a dialogue so that situations like this do not happen again," Chief Hogan told CBS Los Angeles.
The LAFD said it would review future use of costumes at community events going forward.
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