In another case of caught on camera, Kevin Piner, a North Carolina police officer has been fired from the Wilmington Police Department after he was caught on camera saying, “I can’t wait” to slaughter Black people, adding that a civil war was needed to wipe out the Black race.
According to Newsweek, newly appointed police chief Donny Williams announced during a Wednesday news conference officer James Gilmore and Cpl. Jessie Moore were also terminated from the force after an internal investigation revealed extensive violations of department policies, including the standards of conduct, criticism, and the use of inappropriate jokes and slurs.
Williams told the public that the fired officers participated in “disrespectful language, hate-filled speech and referred to Black people as the ‘N’ word.”
And it didn’t stop there. The outlet claims the officers criticized Williams, several black officers on the force, and others outside the department. Williams said they also criticized the Black Lives Matter movement and how the department responded to its protests.
“When I first learned of these conversations, I was shocked, saddened, and disgusted,” the chief said. “There is no place for this behavior in our agency or our city, and it will not be tolerated. Our agency is hurting today because individuals who we believed honored their oath of office violated it and ripped at the very fabric of our family.”
The internal investigation was launched after a sergeant of the agency conducted a routine monthly audit and discovered the June 4 footage that had been labeled “accidental activation.” The sergeant reviewed the two-hour footage of Piner, Gilmore, and Moore’s conversation, which she deemed “extremely racist.” She then notified the department’s administrator, who oversaw the investigation.
According to the report, at the 46-minute mark, Piner referenced the agency to Gilmore, stating its only concern was “kneeling down with the Black folks.” Thirty minutes later, he received a call from Moore, and the racist rant continued. Moore is overheard calling a Black woman he arrested the previous day a “negro” and a racial slur multiple times.
“She needed a bullet in her head right then and move on,” Moore said of the woman. He also called the town’s Black magistrate judge a “f****** negro magistrate.”
The discussion then moved to the subject of a civil war, which Piner declared he was “ready” for. “We are just going to go out and start slaughtering them f****** n******. I can’t wait. God, I can’t wait.” He also made mention that he was going to buy a new assault rifle. Moore, however, responded by saying he wouldn’t do that.
Apparently, Piner felt a civil war was a needed solution to “wipe ’em off the f****** map. That’ll put them back about four or five generations.” Moore then told Piner he was “crazy.”
The three officers have since admitted to the recordings but claimed they are not racists while blaming their comments on the current racial tension that they worked within.
Williams has assured that the officers will not be eligible for rehire in Wilmington and will strongly recommend that they are never hired in law enforcement again. All three have been reported to the North Carolina Justice Training and Standards Commission regarding their behavior.
Moore and Gilmore were hired in 1997, and Piner was employed the following year with the agency. Their cases will be reviewed by the district attorney’s office to determine if they showed a bias towards any defendants and/or committed any crimes during their employment.
