‘Wait until your a—s turn 18’: Video shows officer cursing at children
WARNING: Video includes profanity
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The Richmond (Virginia) Police Department is investigating a video that shows an officer cursing at students outside of a city middle school.
The video, taken on Thursday, March 28, shows a group of students standing outside of Albert Hill Middle School when an RPD officer drives up in a patrol car.
It is unclear what the students said during a brief exchange with the officer, but at one point, the officer can be heard replying, “wait until your asses turn 18, then you’re mine,“ before driving off.
The mother of one of the students who sent the video said the children were on their way to an after-school program.
In a statement, Richmond Police said they are aware of the video and investigating.
“The Richmond Police Department is aware of the video. We take these concerns very seriously. The officer in the video is currently being investigated by our Internal Affairs Division. There are no further details at this time.“
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney also released a statement, calling the officer’s behavior ‘unacceptable.’
“This type of behavior will not be tolerated by any employee of the City of Richmond. I trust that the Richmond Police Department will conduct a quick and thorough investigation and respond accordingly.
“This behavior is unacceptable. It reinforces stereotypes of our communities that are hurtful and damages the relationship between our police department and the citizens they are charged to serve.”
One mother, Tenesha Calloway, said on Friday that one of the students in the video is her 14-year-old daughter.
“These are children, these are not adults, they weren’t doing anything,” Calloway said. “You can clearly hear him saying your ass is mine when you turn 18.”
Calloway said she believes the officer made a racist comment and that this is an issue that has been swept under the rug too many times.
“Right now, I’m a spokesperson for my daughter and I’ll always be a spokesperson for my daughter and we won’t tolerate this,” she explained.
“I don’t want him to lose his job or anything but I do want to speak with him and I also want an apology.”
The Richmond NAACP said they were also looking into the video.
“As an adult and as an officer of the law to protect and serve, that was a teachable moment, it wasn’t a moment to instill fear, or to have them feel threatened in any way,” Calloway said.
Mayor Stoney made an additional statement on Friday regarding the investigation from police.
“I trust that the Richmond Police Department will conduct a quick and thorough investigation and respond accordingly,” Stoney said.