A photo that appears to be Rihanna's face with bruises, scratches and swelling from an attack allegedly at the hands of boyfriend Chris Brown was posted Thursday night by the celebrity Web site TMZ. The close-up image shows a welt above each of the woman's eyebrows, marks on her cheek and around her lips, and general swelling. TMZ did not say how it obtained the photo, when it was taken or by whom. A police news release said the image “has the appearance” of one taken during a domestic violence investigation, and classified its release as a case of serious misconduct that could result in termination. Brown was arrested Feb. 8 and booked on suspicion of making felony criminal threats to a woman that authorities have not publicly identified. A person familiar with the situation, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter and requested anonymity, confirmed that the woman was Rihanna, whose real name is Robyn Fenty. The person said some of the injuries shown in the photo — specifically the marks on the woman's forehead — were consistent with the injuries Rihanna sustained. An Associated Press photo of Rihanna, taken before the party on the night of the incident, shows her with a tattoo of Roman numerals on her left shoulder; the TMZ photo shows the same numerals on the same shoulder. TMZ had previously used its site to debunk a manipulated image that depicted Rihanna with a black eye.
