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Police Officer Suspended After Driving With Confederate Flag

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) - A northern Michigan police officer has been suspended with pay after he was seen off-duty driving a pickup truck bearing a Confederate flag around a group protesting Republican Donald Trump's election as president.

Traverse City police Chief Jeff O'Brien announced Michael Peters' suspension Sunday after earlier saying an internal investigation was to start Monday to see if departmental rules were broken.

O'Brien tells the Traverse City Record-Eagle that Peters "is not working as a police officer." He expects to meet with Peters on Monday.

He had confirmed that Peters was in a photo taken from Friday's rally. The newspaper could not reach Peters for comment.

There have been several reports of threats, intimidation and racially charged violence around the country since Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in Tuesday's presidential election.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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