Taking a picture with Snoop Dogg is more dangerous than you think. A Texas public safety officer who took a picture with the rapper last month is now in trouble with his bosses.
Last month, while Snoop was in Austin for the South by Southwest music festival, he posted for a picture with a Texas public safety trooper. It was posted on his Instagram page, with the caption “Me n my deputy dogg.”
It looks innocent enough, as the trooper isn’t doing anything but standing next to Snoop and smiling. But, according to the New York Daily News, the trooper, Billy Spears, is now in trouble for taking a picture with a “well-known” criminal. He was forced to attend “counseling.”
“While working a secondary employment job, Trooper Spears took a photo with a public figure who has a well-known criminal background including numerous drug charges,” the department told Spears, according to a reprimand the Daily News obtained. “The public figure posted the photo on social media and it reflects poorly on the Agency.”
The Texas Department of Public Safety added that this was not “formal discipline by the department.”
Spears’ attorney, Ty Clevenger, wasn’t happy and plans to fight. “It's weird; it's nuts and we're waiting on DPS to explain itself,” Clevenger told the Daily News. “Everyone keeps asking me if this is an April fool's joke. I say 'no, I promise it's not.’”
Clevenger speculated that the reprimand might have been more about a suspension Spears received for unprofessional conduct last year, but noted that the suspension was overturned.
image via Instagram from Snoop Dogg
image courtesy of INFphoto.com