thedailywhat:

Inadvertent Gang Signs of the Day: A 15-year-old from Chicago was left devastated after the city announced it would not use his contest-winning police vehicle sticker over concerns it depicts gang signs.

Herbie Pulgar, a student at a school for troubled youth, designed the sticker for a local contest, which he subsequently won.

After a blog identified hand signals in Pulgar’s drawing as being associated with the Maniac Latin Disciples gang, the Chicago City Clerk Office said it would use the runner-up sticker instead.

“In no way, shape or form did the art design have any gangs symbols, any gang designs or nothing on the picture,” Pulgar told ABC7. “I just put my heart into it and I tried to make my mom proud.”

Chicago Crime Commission president Jody Weis says Pulgar had published gang-related Facebook posts, but Pulgar’s mother, Jessica Loor, disputes this, saying her son is not a member fo a gang.

“Unfortunately, whether or not the design was meant to include potential gang symbols, the perception that now exists is that the artwork could be misinterpreted as containing gang related symbols,” said Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza.

The silver lining in this story is that Pulgar won’t have to return the $1,000 savings bond he received for winning the contest.

[abc7 / npr / wgn.]