Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) told The Tennessee Star on Friday that it received a complaint about one its officers displaying a tattoo depicting Vladimir Lenin, the communist dictator who centralized power and suppressed political opposition after forming the Soviet Union upon conclusion of the Russian Civil War.
The Star inquired about the officer after a reader submitted a photograph that appeared to show the Lenin tattoo being displayed by an officer identified by his name plate as C. Cantrell. The officer’s uniform appears to indicate he is a member of the MNPD Traffic Section.
“The MNPD received a complaint about this officer’s tattoo and it is going through the complaint process,” a MNPD spokesman told The Star. “He has since been advised to cover the tattoo when he is at work and is doing so.”
MNPD hiring procedures specifically address potentially sensitive tattoos, stating that those which, “are offensive, provocative, advocate discrimination, or are located on the face and neck are prohibited.”
The Star asked MNPD specifically whether tattoos of Lenin violate this policy, but the spokesman did not directly respond to the question.
Despite being dead for more than a century, a scholarly book published by Cambridge University in 2021 noted that the dictator, “has become symbolic of the spectre of communism, as the iconic image continues to haunt the world,” through various forms of art.
Lenin’s communist revolution in Russia has been credited with ushering in an era of “mass slaughter, starvation, and tyranny,” as well as creating the foundation for Josef Stalin to assume dictatorial powers following his death.
In addition to the tattoo Lenin, Cantrell also displayed tattoos depicting what appears to be a stylized AK-47 assault rifle, which was developed by the Soviet Union after the Second World War.
Next to the Lenin and gun tattoos, Cantrell displayed a third tattoo which appeared to depict a red rose, which has been use as a symbol of left wing action since at least 1848.
The decentralized militant group Antifa, which was recently designated a domestic terrorist group by President Donald Trump, has regularly adopted iconography from the 1917 Russian Revolution. One prominent Antifa group, based in Portland, has additionally incorporated a red rose as part of its logo.
– – –
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
