A leading Florida police officer has been suspended after disturbing audio was discovered of her directing a deputy to act like a “white supremacist” and “neo-Nazi” during an investigation involving a Black male suspect. 

Captain Penny Phelps, who formerly oversaw Monroe County Sheriff's Office's major crimes and narcotics units, was reprimanded on Wednesday following an investigation, looking into comments she made during a 2017 case. 

According to the Miami Herald, Phelps directed one of her officers to pull over a Black man, later dubbed the “treehouse murder,” in a failed robbery attempt on November 17, 2017.

Audio of Phelps was captured by a body camera worn by an officer who was in the room with the captain as she called to provide instructions for Monroe Deputy Lee Malone to pull over the alleged suspect, 52-year-old Rory “Detroit” Wilson, if he left his residence. 

“We don’t want Detroit knowing that we know who he is,” Phelps told Malone. 

“We want it to look like you’re the grumpy old man. You have nothing better to do than, you’re the white supremacist, you’re messing with the Black guy who’s riding his bike. I just want you to be the neo-Nazi who’s picking on the Black guy riding the bike,” Phelps said.

She also informed other deputies of Malone’s directive, telling them, “He knows his bit. It’s the white supremacist cop picking on the poor black guy that’s riding on a bike.”

Monroe Sheriff Rick Ramsay reportedly retrieved the audio after becoming aware of it and began an internal investigation into the captain’s behavior. 

“Several issues concerning the treehouse murder case have been brought to my attention,” Ramsay wrote in a statement. “I immediately turned them over to my Internal Affairs Division and directed that an investigation be initiated.”

He added that due to the status of the case, he is not able to offer further details until the investigation is concluded. 

“We have to have all the facts first,” he told the Miami Herald. “Once the investigation is closed, I’ll be happy to talk.”

There is no word if Phelps, who has reportedly worked at the sheriff’s office for 18 years, will be fired, Ramsay said.

Though she is suspended from her role as captain, agency spokesperson Adam Linhardt said Phelps, who rakes in $110,000 annually, still maintains her role as a leader for officer training. 

Phelp’s suspension is just one of several disturbances in Monroe County. Colleen Dunne, a lead prosecutor from the county’s state attorney’s office, was removed from the same 2017 murder case. Dunne is currently being investigated by the Florida Bar for allegedly withholding evidence from defense attorneys in a previous murder case, which violates ethical standards.