Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón has taken swift action after a retired detective was recorded shouting racial slurs at a Black man.
The initial incident was captured on video and posted to social media sites earlier this week. After what appears to be a minor traffic collision, the retired detective can be seen stepping outside of his vehicle and shouting racial slurs at the Black motorist nearby. During the verbal assault, he appears to call the other motorist a "n-----" and refer to another Black person as a "monkey."
"Go back in your little cage until the monkey controller gets here," the man shouts.
The video immediately grabbed the attention of users on both Instagram and Twitter. In the course of approximately 24 hours, it garnered nearly a million views. It also garnered the attention of Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón. In an effort to address the public's concerns, Gascón has announced that it will review more than 300 cases handled by the former detective caught on camera using racial slurs. Furthermore, the Los Angeles Police Department also stated that it would conduct an internal investigation regarding the matter.
***The video below contains graphic and obscene language***
"Los Angeles: It has come to the Department's attention that there is a video posted on social media of a retired LAPD detective. The individual in the video uses a racial slur while engaged in an argument," the department tweeted.
"The individual is not a current member of the LAPD and retired in May 2020 as a detective assigned to Operations Central Bureau Homicide. To ensure there is no current Department nexus to this incident, there has been an internal investigation started. What is seen in the video is not reflective of the thousands of hard working and dedicated men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department."
Altogether, this investigation will involve the review of 370 cases. Neither Gascón nor the LAPD have indicated when the investigation will begin and who will lead the effort.
Photo Credit: Getty Images