Eugene police officer resigns after comments about race and protesters
By: -----
Eugene, OR - A Eugene police officer resigned after bodycam video surfaced showing him having a racist conversation and talking about protestors who were demonstrating outside the federal building in Eugene back in January.
On the police bodycam footage, which is a clip about 4 minutes long, you can see the now-former Eugene police officer driving around the federal building as people gathered to protest ICE. Federal agents were in the area deploying tear gas, flash bangs and pepper spray toward the crowds.
The officer was calmly driving in his cruiser, talking to someone on a hands-free phone call. The two talked about the protestors not having jobs.
"And none of them give a s--- about illegal aliens, you know what I mean?" the officer can be heard saying. "They don't know any."
They also talked about acquaintances — seemingly other law enforcement officers — and their histories of domestic violence. The conversation later turned racist, when the officer made comments about people of a certain race not being able to swim.
Craig Renetzky, Eugene's independent police auditor, said the officer resigned after the video went out on social media over the weekend. He couldn’t believe the comments that were being made on the bodycam.
“All sorts of comments about domestic violence, immigration ... nothing he said was appropriate. Quite frankly, my stomach was turning the entire time,” said Renetzky.
Renetzky still doesn’t know how the video was released and is working to find out who the person on the other end of the call was, but he doesn’t believe they are with the Eugene Police Department.
Chief Chris Skinner with the Eugene Police Department said this in a statement, in part:
“As chief of police, I am angry, disappointed, and deeply concerned about the harm this has caused — especially to members of communities who already carry distrust and pain when it comes to law enforcement. Every person in Eugene deserves to be treated with dignity, fairness, and respect, regardless of race, background, or circumstance.”
According to the agency, Eugene police investigators scrubbed through the officers' video for the entirety of January 30. The agency on Monday released a much longer version of the bodycam video, a stretch of about 23 minutes which includes the shorter segment already posted online. They also release a second video just under 15 minutes long, which they called "another concerning video with offensive content."
"The actions of one officer do not represent the men and women of this department who serve honorably every day, but we also cannot dismiss the seriousness of what happened," Skinner continued in his statement. "When an officer speaks with hate or prejudice, it damages the trust this department works hard to build with the community we serve.
"To the residents of Eugene: we hear your outrage. We hear your disappointment. And we accept the responsibility to do better."