Sign up to get Today’s Best Articles in your inbox
Join 350,000+ subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of
The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
VIDEO: US cop tells motorist 'we only shoot black people'
Dashcam footage captures Lieutenant Greg Abbott's comments during traffic stop
A Georgia police officer was caught on camera telling a female motorist that the police "only shoot black people".
Cobb County police lieutenant Greg Abbott had pulled over the unidentified woman on suspicion of driving under the influence before the dashcam captured his comments.
When the driver hesitates to comply with Abbott's request that she pick up her mobile phone on the grounds that she has "seen way too many videos of cops", the officer interrupts: "But you're not black".
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
He continues: "We only kill black people. Yeah - we only kill black people, right? All the videos you've seen, have you seen white people get killed?", seemingly in reference to recent high-profile police shootings of unarmed black people.
The exchange took place on 10 July 2016, four days after Philando Castile was shot seven times by a police officer during a traffic stop in St Paul, Minnesota.
The footage was uncovered following a freedom of information request from a local investigative reporter Mark Winne.
On Friday, the department opened an internal review, which has now concluded that begin proceedings should begin to dismiss Abbott, who has been temporarily assigned to desk duty.
Sign up to get Today’s Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the day’s biggest news and analysis – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Police chief Mike Register confirmed that the department's internal review had recommended Abbott's dismissal over the comments, which he called "inexcusable and inappropriate".
However, "even as Chief Mike Register was on live TV announcing the termination of Lt. Greg Abbott, Abbott was sending an email to the county announcing his retirement," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
A lawyer representing Abbott said that the 28-year veteran of the force had been trying to persuade the motorist to co-operate and that the comments about shooting black people had to be taken "in their totality"
