US police are facing scrutiny after it was revealed that they have been using images of black men for target practice.

NBC reports that the practice was discovered after police snipers spent the day shooting at the Medley Police Firearms Training Centre.

After they were finished Florida’s National Guard came in. That is when Sergeant Valarie Deant, a national guardsman, noticed a mugshot of her brother, Woody Deant, with bullet holes in his head.

“I was like, why is my brother being used for target practice?,” Deant told NBC Miami.

The mugshot was taken 15 years ago. Deant spent four years in prison for an illegal drag race incident that claimed the life of two people. He says he is now a career man with a family.

North Miami Police Chief J. Scott Dennis defended the practice saying his department was not the only one that used images of real people.

He said the images are important for facial recognition training and that the department also uses images of white people.

“Our policies were not violated. There is no discipline that’s forthcoming from the individuals regarding this,” Chief Dennis said.

Other law enforcement agencies said they only use computer generated images by commercial vendors and not those of real people.

This can create a very dangerous situation and it has been ingrained in your subconscious. What does that mean when someone comes across Woody or another person on the street,” said the Deant’s attorney Andell Brown.