By Police1 Staff
COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A police lieutenant has been fired after a 2016 dash cam video surfaced showing the officer making what is believed to be a sarcastic comment to an uncooperative driver.
“Remember, we only kill black people,” Lt. Greg Abbott of Cobb County Police Department was recorded as saying to a driver who said she was afraid to move her hands.
“But, you’re not black. Remember, we only shoot black people. We only kill black people, right?” Abbott says to the driver.
Commenting on the firing, Police Chief Mike Register said he considered the 28-year veteran officer to be an honorable man, but the comments were “inexcusable,” no matter the intent, the Associated Press reported.
“I feel that no matter what context you try to take those comments in, the statements were inexcusable and inappropriate. They’re not indicative of the values that I’m trying to instill within the Cobb County police department and that I believe the county holds,” Register said.
The report from the internal review of the officer’s comments indicates the officer was trying to be sarcastic, according to the chief.
“He made a mistake. I don’t know what’s in his heart but I certainly know what came out of his mouth. It’s inexcusable,” Register said.
A representative of the driver said she believes the officer was being sarcastic because the woman “gave him some lip” but said it makes you cringe, Fox News reported.
Abbott’s attorney Lance LoRusso previously told Channel 2 News that Abbott’s comments “must be observed in their totality to understand the 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,” LoRusso said at the time of the probe.