The police chief of Salem, Oregon, has been forced to respond to complaints about a video showing an officer warning alleged white supremacists. In the video, an unnamed officer can be seen trying to discreetly alert the alleged white supremacist group before police began arresting other people and deploying tear gas.

The video was first posted to TikTok by 20-year-old Dani Green, according to BuzzFeed, but it then found its way to Twitter, where it caught millions of eyes.

POLICE OFFICER TELLS PROUD BOYS TO HIDE INSIDE BUILDING BECAUSE THEY'RE ABOUT TO TEAR GAS PROTESTERS. THE OFFICER SAID HE WAS WARNING THEM "DISCRETELY" BECAUSE HE DIDNT WANT PROTESTERS TO SEE POLICE "PLAY FAVORITES."#BLUEFALL
#PoliceBrutalityPandemic
#PoliceBrutality
pic.twitter.com/ri83By2EVy

— SatelliteHeart (@Satellit3Heart) June 5, 2020

The person who posted the video to Twitter said the police officer, who has not been named, was speaking with men who are a part of the Proud Boys.

"We're going to really enforce the citywide curfew shutdown so we can arrest anybody walking around. My command wanted me to come talk to you guys and request that you guys discreetly remain inside the businesses or in your vehicles somewhere where it's not a violation … so we don't look like we're playing favorites. That would be unhealthy," the officer told the men.

A longer video on Facebook shows police speaking with the group even longer.

The Southern Poverty Law Center wrote "rank-and-file Proud Boys and leaders regularly spout white nationalist memes and maintain affiliations with known extremists. They are known for anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric."

"Proud Boys have appeared alongside other hate groups at extremist gatherings like the 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville. Indeed, former Proud Boys member Jason Kessler helped to organize the event, which brought together Klansmen, antisemites, Southern racists, and militias. Kessler was only 'expelled' from the group after the violence and near-universal condemnation of the Charlottesville rally-goers," the SPLC continued.

The conversation took place outside of Glamour Salon, whose owner was fined for defying coronavirus lockdown orders.

Glamour Salon's owner, Lindsey Graham, spoke with BuzzFeed News and said she posted on social media asking for people to protect her store because she believed her defiance of coronavirus rules would make her a target of protesters.

"I didn't call for an army to come outside my salon. I called for men to come protect my salon from rioters and looters. I'm seeing [online] that I called white supremacists to come defend my salon. I'm being called a racist and a white supremacist myself. I'm absolutely not a racist or a white supremacist. I would never willingly associate with people who are. It was not my intention to involve myself in any kind of racist activity," she told BuzzFeed.

Salem Police Chief Jerry Moore released a video on Twitter where he apologized for what was seen.

"The impact the interactions captured on the video had on our community has been discussed with the officer. Unfortunately, he had not been fully briefed about enforcement of the curfew before he spoke with the group. Moving forward, all officers tasked with enforcement of the curfew will be properly educated before deployment," he said.

"The message we have received is a concern that we are treating people differently. For that I tell you, I am sorry. Sorry that there is even a thought that this department would treat some different than others," Moore added.

The Salem Police Department did not respond to Blavity's requests for comment.

In his video, Moore repeatedly said he did not want it to look like he was "playing favorites," but he implied there was a difference between protesters and the men protecting the salon.

"Lawfully armed individuals violating the curfew does differ in severity from people throwing bricks and bottled during an otherwise peaceful demonstration. As such, our responses will vary accordingly but without favoritism or bias. We understand the feelings of fear that large groups of people openly carrying firearms in our city can create. Though they gather under the guise of protecting the city, that is our responsibility, not theirs," he said.

"Our history has been to always assist and watch over lawful, peaceful demonstrations. We will continue to do that, be it open carry 2nd Amendment advocates or Black Lives Matter advocates," he said.

Police departments across Oregon, and specifically in Salem, have a long history of racism. Activists and government officials were outraged last year when it was revealed that Joey Gibson, the leader of Patriot Prayer, and Portland Police Lt. Jeff Niiya, the commander of the department's rapid response team, had spent months texting each other.

"This story, like many that have come before it, simply confirms what many in the community have already known — there are members of the Portland police force who work in collusion with right-wing extremists," Portland Councilwoman Jo Ann Hardesty said in a statement last year.

Salem-Oregon

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