The San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco police unions are calling on House Speaker Paul Ryan to remove a student painting from the U.S. Capitol Complex that depicts officers as pig-like creatures.

Last spring, “Untitled #1” by then-high school senior David Pulphus was selected as the winner of Missouri Democrat William Lacy Clay’s 16th annual Congressional Art Competition.

The painting “portrays a colorful landscape of symbolic characters representing social injustice, the tragic events in Ferguson, Missouri, and the lingering elements of inequality in modern American society,” the congressman’s office said in a statement at the time.

To the police unions, however, the painting is “disrespectful” and could endanger the lives of officers.

“This latest indignation, sponsored by an elected official intent on pandering to professional protesters, unfortunately adds credence to a demonstrably false narrative about law enforcement that undermines the safety of law enforcement officers and those we protect,” the unions wrote in a letter Tuesday to Ryan.

“This false narrative portrays law enforcement professionals as posing a danger to the very communities we serve.”

The letter, which was also signed by the Los Angeles Police Protective League and the New York Sergeants Benevolent Association, asks Ryan to exercise his “extraordinary power” as Speaker of the House of Representatives to remove the painting from the tunnel that connects the Longworth House Office Building and the Capitol.

“Speaker Ryan, please stand up for those of us in law enforcement and immediately remove this stain from our beloved Capitol and send a message that you support the men and women of law enforcement over those that perpetuate lies about our profession,” the letter says.

The painting also has drawn criticism from the St. Louis County Police Association and a cadre of conservative bloggers, but Clay said it will not be taken down, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The painting has reportedly been on display for months.

“The U.S. Capitol is a symbol of freedom, not censorship,” Clay said in a statement to the newspaper. “The young artist chose his own subject and the painting will not be removed.”

Clay did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter the police unions sent to Ryan.

In the foreground of the painting, two police officers point guns at a black figure holding a sign that reads in part “Stop Kill.” The head of one of the officers has clear pig-like features.

“They’re basically saying that all police officers who wear the uniform are racist and kill African-Americans, and that’s not the truth,” said Paul Kelly, president of the San Jose Police Officers Association.

Kelly said the unions support free speech, but not “hateful speech, bad information and false narratives.”

“It absolutely may trigger someone else to say, ‘I’m done with this. I’m going to take action. I’m going to kill a cop,'” said Kelly, who pointed to ambushes in Dallas, Baton Rouge and San Antonio that left several officers dead last year. “That’s how we look at this.”