An unidentified white female officer used the N-Word while questioning a group of young black men in Silver Spring, Maryland. The men were suspected of trespassing at a McDonald's, and one of them recorded the testy exchange with the officers on his phone. The Instagram video went viral on Thursday, sparking controversy.
In the footage, the officer says, "Hey, you want to get out of here fast, right? So if you have more people, ya’ll n----s been trying to do something..." "Racist ass bitch!" remarks one of the men. "Nope, that’s a quote," said the smiling officer, claiming she was just repeating his his words. "I bet if she didn’t have that badge on her she wouldn’t call us no n----s," the man replied.
Watch the video of a cop using the N-word to a group of young black menThe Maryland police department released footage of the incident recorded on the white officer's bodycam. The 12-minute video shows the officers pat the men them down, search their bags and question them while they complain they're going to be late for work. "Are you hurt?" one of the male officers asks. "Then stop crying. You’re acting like a little girl."
The young men can be heard referring to themselves using the N-word, which apparently is what the white female officer was "quoting." (Although there is a major difference between white people using the N-word and black people using the N-word.)
As their exchange grows more heated, the young men call the white female officer a "d---eater," to which she responds sarcastically: "It's good to be something. Do I get paid to be a d--eater at least? I'm doing better than you, it looks like, getting paid eat d---s." The full 12-minute video is available to watch on YouTube.
Watch a clip of the incident recorded on the officer's bodycam"The matter brought to our attention today is disturbing and contrary to our department’s values and our overarching mission to fairly and impartially serve our community," the Montgomery County Police Department said in a statement. "The statements observed on the social media video clip are contrary to our extensive training curriculum that include implicit bias training and other training programs to ensure fair, unbiased, and non-discriminatory policing in our community."
"We sincerely regret the disturbing nature of this video," the statement continued. "We understand the pain such language causes the entire community. Our commitment to having open and honest communication with the community and providing transparent police service persists... This incident remains under investigation and appropriate actions shall be taken in conformance with applicable laws and policy."