NYPD Police Union Video Claiming "Blue Racism" Sparks Controversy

The NYPD has come under fire today for a new video that was posted online, claiming that a condition called "Blue Racism" is plaguing their officers.

According to CNN, the video was posted on Sunday to the Sergeants Benevolent Association YouTube page and puts forth a pretty bold statement right off the top. "The average person doesn't see those things that make me human," the video's narrator says. "They don't even label me based on being African-American, Latino, Asian, Caucasian and so on. They tend to see an even broader stereotype through an even more racist lens. When they see me, they see blue." With that, a blue filter comes over the images, showing new snippets of footage that document acts of violence against police officers, including clips of protesters flipping a police car and bellowing anti-police sentiments.

One of the glaring errors from the video comes later, when the famous line from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech is misquoted. It should read as follows: "I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by their color, but by the content of their character." In actuality, the video's line reads: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Subtle, but an important difference.

SBA President Ed Mullins says he stands by the video, adding that he felt "total disgust" after seeing anti-police sentiments and police assassinations climb in numbers and severity of public perception in recent years. "The language to it -- the uniform becomes a blue skin," he told CNN. "We get to peel that off. People of color don't, but when we're in that uniform and we're targeted and killed for what we do, enforcing the law, we're being treated the same as a person who is a target of racism on a regular basis."

The NYPD itself has declined to comment.

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As one might imagine, the response was swift, with many people outraged at the comparison between police officers and those who've experienced racism in their everyday lives. All told, it was the NCAAP who made perhaps the strongest statement about the video, calling it "reprehensible."

"This video demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of our nation's sordid history of racism, including law enforcement's role in perpetuating past and current discrimination," the statement read. "Communities of color face racism every day, and have been victims of hate and other crimes across this nation because of the color of their skin."

You can view the video in question below.