A white South Carolina police officer has been suspended after he was caught on video using a racial slur.
Columbia police Sgt. Chad Walker and several other officers were called to a bar allegedly violating the governor's order limiting the sale of alcohol as part of coronavirus restrictions, and a Black patron there called Walker the slur, reported WACH-TV.
The Black man allegedly used the slur against Walker after the officer told him to stop drinking his cocktail.
"Afterwards, as Walker and patrons were outside, there was a heated exchange between them, including Walker’s repeated use of a racial slur," the department said in a statement. "The entire incident was captured on Walker’s body-worn camera and citizens’ cell phone video."
A bystander's video circulated online, showing Walker repeatedly using the slur as he argued with patrons at Bar None.
"You got mad at me because I told you you couldn't drink your drink so you called me that word," Walker says, as the Black man denies using the slur.
Walker insisted that he should be allowed to use the slur, which he suggested was synonymous with "ignorant," if it had been used against him.
"He can say it to me, but I can't say it to him?" the officer asks, as onlooker say he cannot.
"You're white," someone tells the officer.
"Who cares what color I am!" Walker says. "He called me a word."
"Grow up," a man says. "You're a cop."
