Cobb County Police Chief Mike Register said “there’s really no place for these types of comments in law enforcement.”
A Georgia police officer was fired for telling a woman during a traffic stop that police “only kill black people.”
Dash cam footage shows Cobb County police Lt. Greg Abbott standing outside of a vehicle during a DUI stop last year.
The officer asked the nervous woman to grab her cellphone, but she said she was afraid to move her hands because she “just seen way too many videos of cops.”
That’s when the 28-year police veteran interrupted her.
“But you’ re not black, ” Abbott can be heard saying in the video. “Remember, we only kill black people. Yeah, we only kill black people, right? All of the videos you’ ve seen, have you seen the black people get killed? You have.”
The incident happened in July 2016 but came to light Wednesday after a TV station in Atlanta requested the footage.
Announcing his decision to fire Abbott on Thursday, Police Chief Mike Register remarked that “there’s really no place for these types of comments in law enforcement.”
Speaking at a news conference, Register added, “I feel that no matter what context you try to take those comments in, the statements were inexcusable and inappropriate. They’ re not indicative of the values that I’ m trying to instill within the Cobb County police department and that I believe the county holds.”
Register said he’s known Abbott for many years and has known him to be an honorable man. The report from the internal review indicates that Abbott was trying to be sarcastic and to address the situation as he perceived it, Register said.
“He made a mistake, ” Register said. “I don’ t know what’s in his heart but I certainly know what came out of his mouth. It’s inexcusable.”
Abbott’s attorney, Lance LoRusso, says the officer’s comments must be viewed as a whole.
“He was attempting to de-escalate a situation involving an uncooperative passenger, ” LoRusso told The Washington Post. “In context, his comments were clearly aimed at attempting to gain compliance by using the passenger’s own statements and reasoning to avoid making an arrest.”
An attorney who represented the driver in the DUI case called the video shocking.
“I heard that, and I cringed, ” said Suri Chadha Jimenez. “The reality is, to us minorities, there is a real fear when you’ re pulled over. He thought it was a joke, but it’s not a joke to many people.”
Several social media users took to Twitter to share similar thoughts.
