*A white state contractor in Ohio followed a black man to his home, parked in front of his driveway and proceeded to call him the N-word repeatedly — all because he thought the individual cut him off on the road.
“I just want to let you know what a n—er you’re being,” the contractor said to Charles Lovett, who filmed the racist exchange with his cell phone and posted it to his Facebook page.
“You wanna let me know how much of a n—er I am?” Lovett asked.
“Yea, I want to let you personally know how much of a n—er you are,” the contractor fired back.
Questioned by Lovett as to why he’s making this assessment, the man said: “Because you’re a rude n—er…You cut me off in my lane.”
He then added, “You cut me off because you feel entitled — because you get everything for free.”
To which Lovett replied, “You feel entitled because I’m black.”
The contractor — identified by ABC 6 and FOX 28 as Jeffrey Whitman — is a resident of Columbus and owns a company called Uriah’s Heating and Cooling. He was driving a work van on Tuesday, which had their logo and state contracting info on it, when the incident occurred.
“I’m glad I got all this information, that I’ll be sending to the state, since you’re a state contractor,” Lovett tells Whitman on video.
He posted the footage to Facebook Tuesday and described the incident in the caption.
“So this is happened to me this morning,” Lovett wrote. “A man followed me from the interstate exit to my house, and then proceeded to berate me with the most disrespectful word to any African American. I wasn’t going to post it, because I felt that I should’ve known and did better in handling the situation, by just walking away and going into my house. But I’m human.”
Watch below:
After the video went viral, Whitman apologized for his racist rant, but told NBC4, “I didn’t follow him home.”
“The way I confronted him, I confront him as hey you cut me off,” he said. “I don’t know if it makes it right or wrong, all I can say is I grew up with it and not a big deal for me.”
Lovett later filed a police report against Whitman, but no charges have been filed.
Here’s Whitman’s apology, for what it’s worth…
To Charles Lovett and the community,
I apologize for my use of the n word towards Charles Lovett on Tuesday, July 24th. I understand that using the n-word was not only hurtful towards Lovett as an individual, but hurtful towards the Black community at large. Using the word was dehumanizing, unacceptable, and inexcusable. My actions reflect an unhealthy mindset I have developed and I need to work to change. I have served the Black community for the last 9 years, installing furnaces and water heaters with pride. My actions that day are not a reflection of my feelings towards the Black community. I also understand that racial tensions in America are higher than before, and I regret my part in contributing to that tension. I realize that words are hollow without action, and because of the hurt I have caused, I hope I have the opportunity to give back to the Black community that I have harmed in a meaningful way.
Lovett told Fox28 that he doesn’t want an apology from the man because “what he said is what he said.”
Watch a report of the incident on Fox28 below:
