Miami Police Department 'inadvertently' depicts Jay-Z as gang member: Whoops!

Jay-Z has been called the best rapper alive, the ultimate hip-hop entrepreneur, and one of President Obama’s favorite musicians. Would you ever confuse him with a dangerous gang member? The real Jay-Z is nothing of the kind, of course. Yet that’s the impression you might have gotten if you visited the Miami Police Department‘s website yesterday, where a PSA banner included two obvious sketches of the renowned recording artist next to the headline “REPORT GANG ACTIVITY.”

This bizarre faux pas was first discovered by the Miami New Times, which even identified the specific Jay-Z publicity shots that were ripped off for the anti-gang display. (By my estimation, the photos date from at least eight or nine years ago, back when Jay was still wearing throwback jerseys and t-shirts instead of bespoke suits.) After being brought to light by the New Times, the entire image featuring the ersatz Jay-Zs was promptly removed from the police department’s website. So what on earth happened here?

“It was something that was inadvertently done,” the Miami Police Department’s Officer Kenia Reyes tells EW. “It was a mistake.” Reyes blamed the mix-up on the Miami PD’s computer department and declined to comment further.

A representative for Jay-Z had no comment on this story.

What do you think of the Miami Police Department’s odd mistake? Sound off in the comments.

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