‘Call of Duty’-themed recruiting ad leads to apology from police chief. ‘That’s on me’

A police recruiting ad referencing the violent “Call of Duty” video game franchise has led to an apology from an Illinois police chief.

In the since-deleted ad shared on social media by the Peoria Police Department, officers are shown wearing tactical gear and drawing guns.

“Stop playing games and answer the Call of Duty,” the ad was captioned along with a JoinPPD hashtag.

The ad sparked a wave of backlash, with many people commenting on the post before it was deleted, WMBD and WEEK reported.

The post was also shared on Reddit, where members of the Peoria subreddit commented on how the ad was distasteful.

“Someone thought this would generate youth interest and didn’t realize this was just tone deaf,” one user said.

“At least they had the sense to take it down, it’s disgusting to compare policing to Call of Duty,” another person commented.

Peoria Police Chief Eric Echevarria issued an apology in a statement to WMBD and WEEK.

“I want to apologize, sincerely apologize, if somebody was offended or if we offended anybody,” Echevarria said. “That’s on me, and I ask the community to show me some grace.”

Peoria is about 175 miles southwest of Chicago.

This story was originally published February 28, 2024 at 12:17 PM with the headline "‘Call of Duty’-themed recruiting ad leads to apology from police chief. ‘That’s on me’."