Anne Arundel Co. Officer Suspended After 'Oath Keepers' Hat Seen In Cruiser

An Anne Arundel County police officer has been suspended after a picture of a police cruiser with a hat inside that had the name of the controversial Oath Keepers group on it was brought to the department's attention, police said.

A police spokesman said the officer's police powers have been suspended pending the outcome of an internal investigation after the photo was brought to them. The officer, a 9-year veteran of the department, has not yet been identified.

A woman spotted the hat inside the police vehicle on Monday afternoon when it was parked in the parking lot of Whole Foods in the Annapolis Town Center.

According to its website, "Oath Keepers is a non-partisan association of current and formerly serving military, police, and first responders, who pledge to fulfill the oath all military and police take to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic."

The website goes on to say, "Oath Keepers reaches out to both current serving and veterans to remind them of their oaths, to teach them more about the Constitution they swore to defend, and to inspire them to defend it."

The organization was involved in recent protests in Ferguson, Missouri, as well as a standoff with the federal government at the ranch of Cliven Bundy in 2014. The Southern Poverty Law Center describes the group as anti-government and militaristic.