Lt Greg Abbott – a Georgia police officer faces dismissal after he was caught on a dashcam footage telling a woman in a traffic stop, "We only kill black people." The video shows an interaction between the Cobb County police officer and a woman who said she was afraid to move her hands during a traffic stop.
The woman, on being asked to pick up her phone from her lap, says that she is not willing to put her hands down for fear of being shot since she had seen too many videos of police shootings. Lt Abbott, in an attempt to get her to comply, can be heard saying: "Remember, we only kill black people. We only kill black people right?”
According to a WSB TV report, Cobb County police Chief Mike Register told Channel 2 that after Channel 2 Action News submitted an open records request, he and his command staff looked at the video. On Friday, they also opened an internal investigation. According to Register, the recording is part of a DUI stop.
While WSB TV quoted Register saying that it should not have been said no matter what the context was, he also maintained that Abbott was a good officer and he wasn't aware of any racial bias complaints. He stated that they have responded to the report by instituting a faith forum, precinct discussion groups, training changes and more.
(#TalkingStalking: Have you ever been stalked? Share your experience with The Quint and inspire others to shatter the silence surrounding stalking. Send your stories to editor@thequint.com or WhatsApp @ +919999008335.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)