July 8, 2016 - Memphis Police Department interim director Michael Rallings, left, and mayor Jim Strickland respond to the Dallas shooting at City Hall Friday. (Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal)

By Kayleigh Skinner and Yolanda Jones of The Commercial Appeal

Two officers with the Memphis Police Department have been suspended for a picture they posted on social media, according to officials.

MPD Interim Director Michael Rallings and Mayor Jim Strickland called a press conference Friday to discuss the police department's relationship with the city in the wake of the Dallas, Texas shootings in which five officers were killed and others were wounded.

"I'm angry, frustrated and disappointed that we continue to go down this path," Rallings said. "As we move forward in coming days, we seek peace and understanding for the betterment of our entire community."

He added that the department suspended two of its officers for posting offensive pictures on the social media site Snapchat.

"I will also address today's incident regarding a disturbing image that was supposedly posted by an MPD officer," Rallings said. "At this point two MPD officers have been relieved of duty. The image is disgusting and will not be tolerated. We will conduct a thorough investigation and the individuals responsible will be held accountable. I just spoke to a group of young people at LeMoyne-Owen about decisions and we are responsible for the decisions we make and we are held to a higher standard."

The posts shows a white man's hand pointing a gun at black boy emoji, a cartoon commonly used in text messages.

Rallings said the department is conducting a "thorough investigation" into the incident.

"We will not stand for this," Rallings said. "This is a time to heal for all of us."

With protests, rallies and demonstrations to be held in Memphis in the coming days, officials urged residents to be cautious.

"I am not going to ask you not to exercise your right; however I do expect these events, these protests, these candlelight vigils and gatherings remain peaceful and all laws are obeyed," Rallings said.

Mayor Strickland added, "We are shocked and saddened by the loss of life in our country. We call on America to reject this violence and come together to have a peaceful dialogue and make strides to heal."

Meanwhile, a Nashville officer was decommissioned Thursday for his social media posts, according to The Tennessean.

Metro police officer Anthony Venable was decommissioned after he made a Facebook post referencing the police-involved shooting in Falcon Heights, Minn., pending the results of an internal investigation, the newspaper reported.

"Yeah. I would have done 5," Venable wrote during a Facebook conversation, according to police in a statement Thursday evening.

The comment appeared to reference the number of shots in the Minnesota case where Philando Castile, 32, was killed in a police-involved shooting, according to Nashville paper.

"The police department is treating this matter very seriously and took immediate action, regardless of what he claims the context to have been," Police Chief Steve Anderson said.

Venable, an eight-year officer, said the post was meant to be sarcastic.