Columbia city government apologized Friday for a “selfie” photograph taken Thursday yards away from where the body of an infant had been discovered.

The photograph, of Columbia Police Department public information officer Jeff Pitts and two officers from the department, depicts them smiling and one giving thumbs up, taken about 5:15 p.m. The body of the infant, described as 1 year old or less, was discovered about 11:40 a.m. at the edge of some trees just north of McKnight Tire, 1909 N. Providence Road.

The photo, with the hashtag #CityHallSelfie, was part of a international project to depict government employees in their work setting. As of late Friday afternoon, it was still visible on the department's Twitter feed.

“The photos were by no means meant to take away from the extremely serious nature of the incident, the loss of life of a young infant or to otherwise be disrespectful,” the release states.

Community Relations Director Steven Sapp said in the release that he has taken responsibility for the photo and “taken appropriate coaching actions” to make sure it is not repeated.

"We understand that this was not an appropriate situation or location for these types of photos to be taken and we sincerely apologize to our community, on behalf of the unknown infant child, and to the Columbia Police Department,'' Sapp said in the release.

The photograph drew harsh criticism from Matt Akins, founder of police accountability group Citizens for Justice.

“I can imagine few things more insensitive than this,” Akins wrote in an email. “The picture displays a huge lack of situational awareness and an appalling lack of empathy for the situation unfolding behind them.”

An organization called Engaging Local Government Leaders promoted the #CityHallSelfie project on its website and promised “trophies, recognition and prizes for the people and organizations that show the most pride and creativity on the big day.”

The organization described it as “worldwide celebration of local government service. The city posted a video highlighting its contribution with 62 total photographs, including the one taken at the scene of the death investigation.

“I don't think I could summon that type of smile knowing I'm on the scene where someone has abandoned a child to die like that,” Akins wrote. “Apparently, making sure that they weren't left out of the national #CityHallSelfie day trend trumped any negative emotions associated with investigating the tragic death of an infant. The picture gives the appearance that the Columbia Police Department is more concerned with trending on Twitter than they are about the death of (a) baby.”

He also questioned the message in the tweets that the officers and Pitts were “out keeping the streets safe.”

“I would like to know how they would respond if, God forbid, one of their children were to be involved in a similar incident and I showed up and started taking selfies,” Akins wrote. “As for the caption, I'd like to know who exactly they felt they were keeping safe on that scene. Have they found the person responsible yet? Have they notified the family of the child? Or were they too busy taking selfies to be bothered with all that?”

After a representative of the Tribune inquired about the photo, Sapp asked that no news story be published until Monday or later to keep the public focus on the death of the infant and the department’s efforts to identify the child and locate its parents. The Tribune declined on Friday morning to refrain from reporting on the photo and the news release was issued about three hours later.

"Our goal and primary message to our community continues to be assisting the Columbia Police Department to be the voice of this baby and determine who he or she is," Sapp said. "We need the community to help CPD be that voice by calling the Columbia Police Department if they have any information which could be helpful."

The release concluded with another apology.

“Again, we are deeply sorry for the two posts and will continue to work to maintain the high standards we expect of ourselves as a representative of the Columbia Police Department and our community,” Sapp wrote.

rkeller@columbiatribune.com

573-815-1709

ppratt@columbiatribune.com

573-815-1718