Baltimore residents are seeking justice after disturbing footage of a police officer who appears to purposely cough near Black residents surfaced. In the footage, posted to Instagram on Tuesday, a woman was recording the sergeant as he patrolled the neighborhood.
The officer then walks by the woman and appears to force himself to cough without covering his mouth, seemingly taking advantage of people's fear during the coronavirus crisis. After walking by the woman, the white man passed some more residents who were standing on the side and continued to cough.
The woman recording the video responded with some choice words for the officer, whose name has not yet been released.
"I ain't worried about that s**t. Y'all get that s**t. Black people don't," the woman told the sergeant. "Cough your white a*s back where you live at. F**k out of here."
As the officer walks away from the building, with residents still watching from the sidewalk, the woman continues to express her disgust.
"N***as don't get that s**t. F**k out of here. You need an extra layer of skin. F**k out of here. I should call the CDC on his a*s and let them know he just did some dirty a*s s**t like that. F**k wrong with him?"
(Despite the resident's statements, it must be noted that Black people are dying at a disproportionate rate from the coronavirus in several cities and states.)
Neighbors also chimed in and yelled at the officer, but it was the woman recording the video who was heard clearly.
"You ain't gonna affect nobody, but your co-workers," she said. "F**k out of here. F**k wrong with him?"
According to TMZ, the Baltimore sergeant is still on active duty while he is under investigation. A spokesperson with Baltimore police released a statement to WMAR-2 News.
"The Baltimore Police Department became aware of a video posted online this morning which depicted a Baltimore Police sergeant repeatedly coughing near citizens in Southeast Baltimore," the spokesperson said. "The Department takes COVID-19 very seriously and we do not condone any action by our members which may be perceived as making light of the COVID-19 pandemic."
According to the department, its Public Integrity Bureau is handling the investigation and is reviewing footage from the officer's bodycam.
"A complete investigation will be conducted and the Department hopes that all of its members and the public will continue to work together with respect as we maneuver forward during this challenging time," the spokesperson said.
The Baltimore Police Department has 10 members, including eight officers and two civilians, who have tested positive for the coronavirus, the New York Post reported.
“After watching the full video, in its entirety, it is not only disturbing, but incomprehensible, especially considering the high-level of strong and clear guidance that we have provided from the beginning, regarding COVID-19,” Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said.
The commissioner added that “members are always expected to be sensitive and professional to the community."
"But what we saw in the video is alarming because this pandemic is affecting lives not only nationally, worldwide, but right here in our own police department,” he said.
Baltimore community activist Tawanda Jones said, “it’s disgraceful."
"It says a lot about his character," Jones said. "It says 'I don’t care about nobody’s life. Your lives do not matter.' He needs to be fired on the spot. That is unacceptable.”
Jones said the officer "is playing Russian roulette with people’s lives.”
“I pray to God that he doesn’t have it. Because If he did, that’s a deadly game that he is playing,” she said.
Baltimore City Council President Brandon Scott also condemned the officer in a statement.
"COVID-19 is not a joke and this behavior is beyond unacceptable. When you are in public service, it is your duty to treat everyone with respect, especially when we are dealing with both a public health pandemic and a gun violence epidemic," Scott said. "This is not behavior that we want our police officers or any of our public servants to model to our residents."
