A Mexican policewoman has been suspended from service for posting a topless picture on popular social networking site Facebook. Nidia Garcia, mother-of-two, has been criticised for taking the incriminating image, exposing her chest and holding a rifle inside her official patrol car.

After the picture went viral on social media, Garcia quickly removed it from her profile and apologised for the same. "I was wrong in letting myself be photographed in my hours of work while still wearing the uniform of an officer. I want to ask a huge apology to the secretary of security and Justice of proximity and more to my municipality general Escobedo for this immoral act on my part [sic]," Garcia posted on her social media page, according to the Daily Mail.

The officer also said that the act has damaged her family's reputation. "I feel disgusted by the great damage caused and the damage done mainly to my two daughters, followed by my husband, my parents, brothers and entire family [sic]," she added.

It is not clear who took the picture. Reports suggest that Garcia is currently at the mercy of the state's internal police Honour and Justice Commission.