Maryland County Apologizes After White Cop Uses N-Word While Questioning Black Men

Montgomery County police have released body camera footage of a police officer using the N-word while questioning black man over the report of a trespassing, according to the Baltimore Sun.

“Y’all niggers been trying to do something,” she said to the men who were being questioned outside of a McDonald’s in Silver Spring, M.D. on Thursday morning.

After one of the men being questioned responds by calling her a “racist bitch,” the unidentified officer responded that the words were “a quote, those were your words,” though the words are not clearly audible at any point in the footage released.

The video was released on Instagram, but MCPD officials confirmed they were investigating the incident on Thursday. MCPD released a statement later that night apologizing for the video.

“We sincerely regret the disturbing nature of this video,” the release said. “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.”

In the full body cam footage, released to YouTube by MCPD, the officer can be heard mocking the group of me repeatedly before using the epithet.

Now we’re talking English,” the officer can be heard saying in response to a resident being questioned by police.

The incident began as officers began investigating a possible trespass according to police spokesman Rick Goodale, who said that police were trying to determine whether charges or citations were issued along with the ages of those stopped.

Council member Craig Rice told the Baltimore Sun that the officer should not have used the language even if she was repeating a remark made by one of the men, regardless of what went down. . . . It’s not appropriate for anyone in our workforce,” adding that he wished to see “appropriate disciplinary action.”

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich told WUSA9 that he had spoken with the acting police chief, adding “every time something like this happens it hurts the reputation of all officers; and it works against efforts to build trust in the community.”

Council member Will Jawando told the Sun that he wished for the investigation to determine exactly why the men were stopped in the first place. Jawando, an at-large Democrat, recently saw a bill requiring outside investigations of police-involved deaths in Montgomery County pass the council.

“I think there’s a larger issue , who and why and how we’re stopping and detaining individuals,” Jawando said. “When you do that, it can lead to disproportionate arrests and use of force, which is not a good thing. It doesn’t build trust in the community.”