© Robyn Beck/Getty ImagesFile photo: A Los Angeles Police Department officer wears a body camera in Hollywood, California. A woman was caught on police body camera footage verbally abusing an officer in a racist tirade after she was pulled over during a routine traffic stop in San Dimas, California.
A woman was caught on police body camera footage verbally abusing an officer in a racist tirade after she was pulled over during a routine traffic stop in San Dimas, California.
The woman was pulled over last month after a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy apparently spotted her using a cell phone while driving.
In the footage, the officer can be seen approaching the driver's window as the woman, who is blurred, begins recording the encounter. "I pulled you over because..." the officer begins before the woman cuts him off: "Because you're a murderer."
"Yes, I started to record because you're a murderer," she adds, alleging the officer is threatening her and her son.
"You can't be on your cell phone while you're driving," the officer is heard saying before requesting to see the woman's identification.
"It's at my apartment [...] I am perfectly legal and I am a teacher," the woman replies.
The incident escalates when the woman signs the traffic violation and calls the officer a "Mexican racist."
"Here you go Mexican racist," the woman says as she hands the signed document back to the officer. "You are always going to be a Mexican. You will never be white. You know that, right?"
The video has been watched more than 2.5 million times since it was first uploaded to Twitter by Fox News reporter Bill Melugin on Monday.
"A Latino LASD deputy sent me his bodycam video of a woman claiming to be a teacher launching into a racist tirade against him when he pulled her over in San Dimas," wrote Melugin in the tweet.
The officer's calm demeanor was mostly met with praise by those who watched the two-minute clip.
L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said he was "appalled" by the video, but commended his deputy for staying professional.
"This Deputy exemplifies the core values of our Department, his demeanor during this traffic stop is just an example of professionalism and patience our LASDHQ Deputies have," Villanueva tweeted on Monday.
"She claims to be a teacher. I'm not so sure where she is teaching... but if she represents her profession, is that an indictment on her profession and the caliber of people?" he later told Fox News.
"You have one incident like George Floyd....but some people want to label the entire profession as if everyone was a Derek Chauvin. It shows you that bigotry, racism comes in all colors and all ages and that's proof of that right there. If you want to call all of the deputies murderers, unfortunately, you are doing the exact same thing you're accusing other people of doing against your own kind."
The officer involved has reportedly been with the force for the past 14 years, telling the station he recorded the interaction on both his official department-issued bodycam, and a personal one he bought to "protect himself from false allegations."
The woman captured in the footage is said to have called Internal Affairs and filed a harassment complaint against the deputy immediately after the incident, according to the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, as reported by Fox News. The department also said that the woman has a history of making false claims against deputies.
Newsweek has contacted the L.A. County Sheriff's Department for comment.
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