Viral photo shows Cleveland cop pointing gun at two unarmed black women at scene of hit-and-run

A photo that went viral over the weekend showed an officer pulling his weapon on two black women who were at the scene of a hit and run, a spokesperson for the Cleveland Police Department explained on Monday.

A Sunday post on Reddit shared a photo from the Imgur service that had been viewed by nearly 2 million times by Monday afternoon. In it, an officer on a motorcycle can be seen ducking behind his vehicle and pointing his weapon at two women, who appear to be surprised and unarmed.

Lt. Ali Pillow told The Cleveland Plain Dealer that someone had tipped the officer off on Sunday that the car had been involved in a hit-and-run. But when the officer stopped his motorcycle, the people in the car allegedly fled so the officer drew his weapon and ordered everyone to put their hands up.

Pillow said that the weapon was not discharged during the incident. The driver was charged on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

Pillow told WEWS that the driver was wanted in connection with multiple hit-and-runs.