An internal investigation has been launched after disturbing comments made by Cobb County, Georgia police officer.
Exclusive dash-cam video obtained by Atlanta’s Channel 2 Action News caught an officer?s interaction with a white female DUI suspect who said she was afraid to move her hands during a traffic stop.
?But, you?re not black. Remember, we only shoot black people. We only kill black people, right? All the videos you?ve seen, have you seen the black people get killed??
Watch the disturbing video below…
Cobb County police Chief Mike Register told Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Mark Winne that after the news station submitted an open-records request, he and his command staff looked at the video.
On Friday, they opened an internal investigation.
The footage is from July 2016 and the officer involved is Lt. Gregg Abbott.
Abbott has been placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of the investigation.
Attorney Suri Chadha Jimenez, who represented the driver in the DUI case that resulted from the traffic stop, offered clarification of the incident to the AJC:
Chadha Jimenez said the woman was not the driver of the car but a passenger. He represented the male driver of the car, not the woman, but said he was familiar with the facts of the case.
The driver was arrested for DUI and placed in the officer?s squad car. The woman was waiting for someone to pick her up from the scene. While she waited, the exchange with the officer occurred.
?She does have a legitimate concern,? Chadha Jimenez said. ?I think it was an honestly felt response but the officer?s response mocked her, which wasn?t professional. What bothers me is that he didn?t take her concern seriously.?
The woman was arrested on charges related to the traffic stop, Chadha Jimenez said. Both her case and the driver?s Dui case were resolved months ago, the attorney said. He would not say if the driver and the woman are related.
According to the attorney, neither his client nor the driver wants the media attention that has come with the shocking revelations.
?She?s not trying to get paid,? he said. ?She wants it to go away.?
Abbott?s attorney Lance LoRusso gave Channel 2 Action News the following statement:
Lt. Greg Abbott is a highly respected 28-year veteran of the Cobb County Police Department. He is cooperating with the department’s internal investigation and will continue to do so. His comments must be observed in their totality to understand their context. He was attempting to de-escalate a situation involving an uncooperative passenger. In context, his comments were clearly aimed at attempting to gain compliance by using the passenger’s own statements and reasoning to avoid making an arrest.?
Also on Thursday, the president of the Cobb branch of the NAACP said she was reserving judgment on the matter until the officer?s case has been thoroughly investigated.