The Philadelphia police department’s internal affairs division is investigating two officers who were caught on video making disparaging and racist remarks to two black men detained under stop-and-frisk policies.
The pedestrians used a cell phone to record their interaction with two officers. After exchanging pleasantries, the officers pushed one of the men up against their cop car and searched him. When the pedestrians insisted that the officers had no cause to search them, the officers made hostile, racist remarks.
“Fucking dirty ass,” said one of the officers. “Why don’t you shut the fuck up?”
The video suggests that the encounter took place because the two men had said hello to another person on the street, and the cops suspected that person of being involved with drugs.
After the man recording the video revealed that he lived in New Jersey, the officers told him to go back there and never return to Philadelphia. The recorder insisted that he had family in the city, which prompted one of the officers to say: “Don’t come over here. We don’t want you here, anyway. All you do is weaken the country.”
“How do I weaken the country?” asked the man. “By working?”
“No, freeloading,” replied the officer.
The man eventually explained that he worked as a server at a country club.
“Server? Serving weed,” suggested the officer.
A spokesperson for the police department told Philly Confidential that internal affairs was investigating the incident.
The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.