Three North Carolina police officers have been fired over a racist rant in which one officer said he “can’t wait” to “[slaughter] them fucking n****rs” and “put them back about four or five generations.”
The firing came after a Wilmington Police Department sergeant came across these statements while conducting a video audit as part of a monthly inspection. The recording captured officer Kevin Piner saying he is prepared for a civil war against black people, in which he will "slaughter them" and “wipe them off the map.”
Piner also criticized the leadership of his department, saying their only concern is “kneeling down with the black folks.” The other fired officer, Brian Gilmore, referred to a black woman as a “negro” and used both racist and homophobic slurs to describe a black magistrate.
Wilmington Police Chief Donny Williams said of the incident: “When I first learned of these conversations, I was shocked, saddened and disgusted… There is no place for this behavior in our agency or our city and it will not be tolerated.” The officers were fired for violating the department's standards of conduct. Williams also notified the N.C. Criminal Justice Training and Standards Commission, advising that the two officers not be rehired in any other department.
The ex-cops’ prior cases will also be reviewed by the district attorney’s office to determine if they committed any crimes or showed bias toward criminal defendants. Both officers denied that they are racists, blaming their comments on officers’ stress amongst the recent wave of nationwide protests for racial equality in the aftermath of George Floyd's death.