A number of employees of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation have been suspended surrounding the investigation of a photograph showing a correctional officer training class performing the Nazi salute.

CHARLESTON — All of the cadets of Basic Training Class No. 18 with the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation who participated in a Nazi salute in a class photo have been fired along with three staff members after Gov. Jim Justice accepted an investigative report released Monday.

The investigation was launched into the photo at the request of Justice and Jeff Sandy, secretary of the state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety.

Four other staff members at the Corrections Training Academy in Glenville were suspended without pay for their part in allowing the behavior and the photo.

“I have reviewed the factual information regarding this incident that was provided by Secretary Sandy, and have approved all of his recommendations,” Justice said in a statement. “I expressed my thanks to him and the entire Department for quickly getting this report done.”

A class photo was released Dec. 5 by the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety showing 37 members of the basic training class with their hands outstretched in a salute made infamous by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Some had their hands are raised open and flat, while some made a closed fist.

“Their conduct, without question, has also resulted in the far-reaching and harmful perceptions that are the antithesis of the values we strive to attain,” Sandy said in a letter to Justice on Friday. “The inevitable consequence of the conduct has not only damaged the reputation of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, but also negatively impacts morale across the workforce.”

The investigation, conducted by Inspector General Gary Johnson and Deputy Commissioner Mike Coleman, started shortly after the photo was taken, utilizing 34 investigators and 75 interviews.

“The investigation to this point reflects that, with some possible exceptions, participation in the conduct was largely based on ignorance, along with a remarkable and appalling lack of judgment among the cadets, and some members of the Academy staff,” said Betsy Jividen, commissioner of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

“Nonetheless, we expect and demand that our employees act in a way that contributes to an environment of respect and professionalism among our ranks,” Jividen said. “Messages that reflect hate, intimidation, and discriminatory beliefs have no place in our workplace, and are incompatible with our mission to protect both our incarcerated population and the citizens of West Virginia.”

Basic Training Class No. 18 trained at the Glenville academy from Oct. 21 to Nov. 27. According to the report, the salute was started three weeks into the training by a black cadet and unofficial leader of the class as a “sign of respect” for instructor Karrie Byrd. Other class members started to use the salute as well, though some recognized its historical connections to Nazis and didn’t use the salute.

“Others who knew the implications of the gesture felt pressure to fit in and joined in,” the report stated. “Some of these class members voiced their concerns to classmates. Those voicing concerns were assured by those comfortable with the gesture, that since there was no racial motivation on their part, the gesture was acceptable.”

Byrd, who taught the cultural diversity class at the academy, told investigators that she was unaware of the historical and racial uses of the salute and said that no other staff members raised the issue with her. However, two instructors who witnessed the use of the salute in class warned the class members against using the salute. Byrd later told the class she saw nothing wrong with using the salute and allowed it to continue.

“The gesture was done with Byrd’s knowledge,” according to the report. “The investigation disclosed that she encouraged it, reveled in it, and at times reciprocated the gesture. Additionally, Byrd appeared to overrule the corrective actions taken by others and assured the cadets the behavior was acceptable.”

The report stated that the class photo had to be taken several times because not everyone was participating in the salute. Several cadets reported that they didn’t do the salute until instructed to by Byrd.

“These cadets stated that they only did it at that time due to fear of not graduating for disobeying the direction of an instructor,” according to the report. “Seven of those cadets, in order to comply with Byrd’s direction but not make the gesture, held up a closed fist.”

When a member of the secretarial staff first saw the photo, she asked Byrd what they were doing. Byrd directed her to put “Hail Byrd” as a caption above the photo and told the secretary that there was nothing wrong with the photo since it included class members of multiple races and all the cadets participated.

“The secretary remarked that Byrd told her ‘that’s why they do that because I’m a hard-(expletive) like Hitler,'” the report stated.

The secretary showed the photo to Capt. Daniels-Watts, identified through the State Auditor’s Office as Annette Daniels-Watts, a basic training supervisor. While Daniels-Watts told investigators she found the photo “horrible,” she was dismissive of concerns brought by the secretary and two instructors.

“When the meeting for Academy Staff was called regarding the picture, Daniels-Watts’ response was ‘Do I resign now or what…’ and ‘I saw the picture and did nothing,'” the report stated.

The identities of the terminated cadets and instructors, as well as the four suspended staff members, have not been officially released. Investigation into other pictures continues, including one showing some cadets surrounding Byrd with their hand horizontal below their noses, which one investigator believes is a satirical Hitler reference.

Shortly after releasing the photo, the division reached out to religious groups. While cadets are trained on dealing with white supremacists and other racist and anti-Semitic groups found in prisons, Justice and Jividen hope to use the photo incident as a teachable moment.

“This event has saddened, disappointed, and embarrassed DCR leadership and membership, and we deeply regret the incident,” Jividen said. “We have engaged with faith leaders and anti-defamation representatives to enhance and enrich our training opportunities in order to guard against future incidents such as this one.”

“We have a lot of good people in our Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety. But this incident was completely unacceptable,” Justice said. “Now, we must continue to move forward and work diligently to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”