Image on Marin Judge's Website Irks Law Enforcement Officials

The phones and email accounts of law enforcement officers across Marin were abuzz last week as word spread of an image on the website of Mark Talamantes, the attorney who was appointed as a new Marin County Superior Court judge by Gov. Jerry Brown two weeks ago.

The image, which depicts two police officers overlooking a protest rally while wearing uniforms with words like "racist," "brutal beating" and "KKK" on them, drew the ire of a number of officers last week, with several forwarding the image to Patch but declining to comment because of Talamantes' new position. Many said the image presented a very unfortunate view of police officers by a person who is now a judge.

"This (image) is everywhere this week," said a board member of one local police officer association who declined to be named.

Talamantes, who was sworn into office Dec. 31, has taken down his firm's website for now and has apologized for the image, according to the Marin Independent Journal.

"I'm concerned that law enforcement might have the wrong impression," the 46-year-old Tiburon resident told the IJ. "I understand how people might be offended by that."

Talamantes told the paper that the painting, which was created by Los Angeles artist Jose Ramirez, does not represent his feelings about police, and that he chose it because of the work his firm does representing young Latinos and workers.

What do you think of the painting? Should Talamantes have taken it down?