Jan 4, 2015 1 min read

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh’s new police chief is being praised by the mayor and criticized by the president of the police union for being photographed on New Year’s Eve holding a sign that says, “I resolve to challenge racism (at) work.”

The sign also has a Twitter hash tag that says “(hash) end white silence.”

Mayor Bill Peduto says McLay – who was pictured holding up a sign that a protester brought to the city’s First Night celebration – was simply recognizing that racism exists and acknowledging there’s work to be done restoring trust between the city’s police and the black community.

But Fraternal Order of Police president Howard McQuillan says the sign paints city police – especially white officers – as racists, and violates a policy governing police participation in social media.