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Man painted himself black to evade US police in worst idea ever

Miraculously he wasn't shot by police

Christopher Hooton
Thursday 19 March 2015 08:22 EDT
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(Madera Police Dept)

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Even if you've been living under a rock, a rock with no internet access or cable, for the past year, you can't have not heard the reports of police brutality exacted on black men.

And yet, a California man decided to spray paint himself black to try and evade the cops.

He remained in jail on Wednesday charged with auto theft and violating probation, with his booking photo showing his blackened face.

"The camouflage was ineffective," police concluded.

City of Madera Police Department posted a picture of the felon on its Facebook page as a deterrent, writing: "Last night Jose Espinoza fled from a stolen car. Officers arrested Jose later in the evening after he fled a second time. This time Jose spray painted his face black in an effort to camouflage himself."

It was a better effort than Crewe Police Department in Virginia, which recently asked followers to step forward if they left some cocaine at a convenience store, leading to confusion and the idea that police might actually return it to the owner.

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