This kind of bullying from law enforcement is embarrassing to America
A video has surfaced on YouTube showing a Passaic, New Jersey police officer berating a young Latino couple. The video was shot in February, after police had stopped by the
couple's home and things escalated.
City resident Jasmine Vidal and her boyfriend said they were sitting on their porch with a friend in February when the officer drove up in a patrol car. Vidal said they told the officer to get out of the car when he started speaking to them, and that's when he got angry, using foul language and making threats about calling immigration.
They recorded the encounter, in which the officer is heard asking Vidal's boyfriend, "You go to school? What are you, [expletive] special ed? You [expletive] an idiot. You might be an idiot because you mouthed off. That's why you're going to get this ticket."
The officer, who has yet to be identified, continues to rant away, threatening to check the couple's family members for identification in this pleasant exchange:
Officer: Don't worry, i'm going to knock on your fucking door, and I'm going to check your mom and dad's ID, and all your fucking cousins and when they give me that bullshit fucking name I'm gonna have immigration pick everybody up so they can go back to the fucking border or pueblo, or wherever the fuck they came from and all the hard work they came to, to come to America? You fucked it up. You fucked it up. I don't see you smiling. I don't see you smiling now.
The video is infuriating. The officer continues, relentlessly going after the male of the couple. Saying things like:
I'll make this fucking just like Texas, or I don't know where the fuck, Arizona? They just stop and fucking check people for no fucking reason.
The Latino community is demanding satisfaction in this case but so far nothing more than the usual:
Mayor Alex Blanco later said in a statement emailed to NBC 4 New York: "I am asking for calm and restraint so that the city's internal affairs office has the time necessary to gather all information and complete the review necessary to make smart and well thought-out decisions."
The officer has since been disciplined, but Passaic police would not confirm whether it was for the February incident.
You can watch the video below the fold.