A Baltimore police lieutenant has been suspended after sending an email to the city's entire police force calling members of the Black Lives Matter movement "thugs," ABC2 reports.
Police Lt. Victor Gearhart is also vice president of Maryland's Fraternal Order of Police.
Protesters gathered outside the Fraternal Order of Police's annual convention Sunday, demanding that real action be taken.
"There was an email that he wrote last night calling protesters thugs. And basically saying that people who are engaged in their personal rights are engaged in bad behavior," demonstrator Lawrence Brown said.
According to the report, members of the police force are also outraged by the email.
"It's not an email that's representative of this agency, and not only was the police commissioner outraged, several members of the agency called to express their frustration," Baltimore Police spokesperson T.J. Smith told the news station.
Smith said that he understands why protesters are frustrated and expressed that the Police Department is dedicated to reform.
"We have to continue to establish trust, and we can only do that through our actions, and we have to call it out when actions aren't representative of the men and women that wear this uniform. That's what we have to say," Smith said.
Read more at ABC2.