An investigation has been launched into a Miami cop after he told a Black driver "this is how you guys get killed out here, man" during a traffic stop, per the Miami Herald.
The driver, identified as Gerardson Nicolas, recorded his interaction with a Miami-Dade police officer after being pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt.
In the now-viral video, the officer asks Nicolas for his license and registration information. As Nicolas is seemly reaching for the documents, the Miami cop says he "will not be going work today" if he doesn't show the requested documents.
"This is how you guys get killed out here, man," the officer adds as Nicolas is obtaining the documents.
Taken aback by the cop's racially charged statement, Nicolas can be heard replying, “Say that again. Say what you just said,” before the video ends.
Nicolas told NBC 6 that he started recording the incident after the officer forcefully grabbed his car door handle.
George Perez, the interim Miami-Dade Police Director, ordered the investigation after the cop's comments surfaced. The unidentified cop has been taken off his beat and assigned to desk duty for the remainder of the investigation.
“It’s exactly what the inference is that bothers me,” Perez said in a statement.
Steadman Stahl, president of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, said he would want to see the entire video before passing judgment. However, he believes the cop's comment wasn't racially-charged and was simply referring to the danger of not wearing a seat belt.
“People die from not wearing seat belts every day,” Stahl said in a statement.
Perez said he watched the 31 minutes of body cam footage from the traffic stop and proceeded to launch the investigation.
According to the Miami Herald, police have yet to release the body cam footage.
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