A District of Columbia police officer who worked as a motorcycle escort for the White House and other officials has been moved to administrative duty after he allegedly made threatening comments about Michelle Obama, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

The officer was overheard making the comments Wednesday as several officers from the Special Operations Division discussed threats against the Obamas, the Post said, citing unidentified police officials who were not authorized to discuss details of the case. The officer allegedly said he would shoot the first lady and then used his phone to retrieve a picture of the firearm he said he would use, according to the report in the newspaper's online edition.

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Asked about the report, D.C. police spokeswoman Gwendolyn Crump said: "We received an allegation that inappropriate comments were made. We are currently investigating the nature of those comments."

Officials familiar with what happen say that it was a bad joke made by someone who should have known better. “Pump the brakes on this one,” a Secret Service official told NBC.

Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan told The Associated Press the agency was aware of the report and would "take appropriate follow-up steps."

Typically in the case of a threat against a member of the first family, the Secret Service interviews participants and witnesses and then makes an assessment on how to proceed.

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Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.