*A Philadelphia police officer has been placed on administrative duty and an investigation has been launched after a video surfaced showing him disparaging a young Black man last New Year’s Eve.
The incident was made public only recently by YouTuber Dale Hiller, a retired combat veteran who shares content aimed at exposing police misconduct. In the clip, an officer with the nametag “Hoover” follows the young man, who is filming the encounter. The young man tells the officer that he’s not committing a crime, to which Hoover responds, “I’m allowed to be here; it’s a free country.”
The young man responds: “All right; me too,” before the cop asks him “why are you chasing me?” The young man denies chasing the officer.
The video appears to cut to the officer telling the individual “Shut your mouth, boy. You don’t live down here” and “Where you from?” He adds, “You too stupid to insult,” before later yelling “Worldstar!”
The narrator says the young man, whom he identified as Gabriel, was reportedly leaving a relative’s home on New Year’s Eve when the encounter occurred. Later, the officer is seen still following the young man, asking him to take selfies and referring to him as his “homie.”
The man pleads with the cop to back up. “I don’t want to get shot. I’m Black,” he says. Officer Hoover shines his flashlight in the man’s face and comes closer. The young man asks to have a supervisor called.
Eventually Hoover arrests him on charges of disorderly conduct and possessing a small amount of marijuana.
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The Philadelphia Police Department commented about the video in a Twitter post, one day after it went viral. “We understand the video circulating has caused anger and disappointment. All PPD officers are expected to discharge their duties with honor and integrity,” they stated, adding, “The officer involved has been placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of an Internal Affairs investigation.”
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