Controversial photos of a group of officers clowning around at Arlington National Cemetery on Thanksgiving Day has high-ranking officials at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Virginia seeing red.

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The photos in question show a group of seven officers who patrol the cemetery grinning and pretending to beat up one of their own, according to WTTG. The men were holding pepper spray, batons and other weapons in the photos.

While authorities have not confirmed that the officers violated any policies, officials there do say their actions do not represent the base. They have launched an internal investigation to determine why the incident happened.

Base spokesman Michael Howard told Fox 5 the officers began “horsing around” and then the incident deteriorated into “unprofessional behavior.”

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Under normal circumstances, the responsibility of the police department is to guard against potential crimes on the base and at Arlington National Cemetery.

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A native of Columbus and a fine arts graduate of Clark Atlanta, Amy Sherald was chosen as the official portrait artist of former first lady Michelle Obama. On the same week that the portrait was unveiled at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, it was also announced that Sherald was awarded the High Museum's 2018 David C. Driskell Prize. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Credit: Andrew Harnik