After pulling over a car with a group of black people in it on Saturday, May 19, a white police officer instructed everyone to step out. He told everyone to put their hands above their heads, and when one woman did not do this to his satisfaction, he told her to “Put your hands up like we’re going to shoot you.”

A bystander who filmed the incident spoke for all of us, asking, “Why would you say that?!”

With everyone in a police car, an officer drives their SUV away instead of calling for it to be towed. 

“There is no excuse for such threatening statements, particularly given the high number of unjustified police shootings… and the fact that the woman appears to be complying,” Andre Segura, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, told HuffPost. “The officer’s statement demonstrates a disregard for the sanity of the lives of those whom our police officers are sworn to protect.”

However, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo believes his officers acted according to standard. 

“During the stop, the officers followed tactics and procedures designed to take suspects into custody in a manner that maximizes safety for both officers and suspects,” Acevedo told HuffPost. “While tactics used were consistent with policy, the phrase in question is not consistent with the expectations of the Houston Police Department.”

According to standard? We think not.