Rihanna's Photo From The Chris Brown Domestic Violence Altercation!

It's the picture of Rihanna we've been waiting to see ever since the infamous beating of her, allegedly by singer/dancer Chris Brown, went down the morning of the Grammy Awards on February 8.

The photo, obtained by ... surprise, TMZ.com, shows just how brutally the pop star/singer was beaten. If her attacker is indeed Chris Brown, the evidence against him is even more overwhelming than we imagined.

But that's a whole other issue. The problem here is that the release of the photo is unauthorized and LAPD is not happy.

The Los Angeles Police Department has started an internal investigation to find out who the culprit is. Maybe they could start by asking TMZ how they got the photo. In any event below (Rihanna's injury photo) is their press release dealing with the matter:

Los Angeles: The unauthorized release of a domestic violence photograph immediately generated an internal investigation.

At about 7 p.m. on February 19, 2009, the Los Angeles Police Department Media Relations Section began receiving numerous inquiries about the release of a photograph associated with a domestic violence incident that occurred on February 8, 2009, involving entertainer Chris Brown.

The photograph appeared on an entertainment website. The photograph has the appearance of one taken during an official Domestic Violence investigation.
The Los Angeles Police Department takes seriously its duty to maintain the confidentiality of victims of domestic violence.

The Department launched an immediate internal investigation and subsequently filed a personnel complaint.

A violation of this type is considered serious misconduct, with penalties up to and including termination.