Medford Cop: Posing with ‘Hillary Clinton’ in Prison Gear Showed ‘Poor Judgment’

A photo of two officers with someone in the costume sparked outrage.

The head of the Medford police union apologized over the weekend after a photo surfaced of two officers pretending to arrest a person dressed up as Hillary Clinton in a prison jumpsuit.

“These were Halloween costumes. It was meant totally as a joke,” Harold MacGilvray—president of the local police union and one of the officers featured in the photo—wrote in a statement to the Globe. “I apologize if this offended anyone in any way. I never expected this sort of reaction. It was poor judgment on my part.”

The photo, taken on Saturday at a festival, was first posted on the Medford Police Patrolmen’s Association Facebook page and then shared widely online. It shows to officers smiling next to the costumed person, and its caption reads, “Look who MPD grabbed at the Fall Festive in Haines Square Today …” It has since been deleted.

One of many to share the photo was New Hampshire Rep. Ray Baldasaro, a sharp-tongued Donald Trump supporter and  longtime champion of the idea that Clinton should be in jail or “shot for treason.”

The costume has been a popular one this season—as have Trump and Clinton masks in general—with this monster truck rally of an election now just a little more than a week from being over with. The reason for the jumpsuit is Trump, the Republican nominee, has said he believes his Democratic opponent should be in prison, and would do his best to put here there if he were elected. His supporters have been chanting “lock her up” at his rallies.

Also this weekend, there was online outrage over the behavior of two people wearing masks depicting Trump, Clinton, and Barack Obama at a college football game in Wisconsin. The person wearing the Clinton and Obama masks was seen in prison garb, and and had a noose around their neck.

Last week, someone else dressed up as Clinton-as-inmate on a float in a Pennsylvania parade, which also featured a makeshift jail cell.