A black police officer from Ohio has delivered a withering critique of “racist” fellow officers who “murder” people while in uniform.
Nakia Jones posted the video rant on Facebook Wednesday afternoon following the death of Alton Sterling at the hands of police in Baton Rouge, La., on Tuesday. Sterling’s death was followed a day later by the shooting death of Philandro Castile by a Minnesota police officer.
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Jones says she watched the video of Sterling’s death over and over, and became furious by what she saw.
“If I wasn’t a police officer and I wasn’t on the inside I would be saying ‘look at this racist stuff,’ and it hurt me.”
Jones says she grew up in an unstable home with a parent on drugs, and became a police officer to make a difference in people’s lives.
“I wear that that blue uniform proudly,” Jones said in the video.
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What hurts her the most, Jones says, is that the officers involved in Sterling’s death took an oath to serve and protect.
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“If you are white, and you working in a black community and you are racist you need to be ashamed of yourself. You stood up there and took an oath. If this is not where you want to work at then you need to take your behind somewhere else.”
She says police deal with mistrust and suspicion from many communities, and that will never change while these police shootings continue to occur. So she says those behind the shooting need to take a look at their motives for their career choice.
“How dare you stand next to me in the same uniform and murder somebody? How dare you?”
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Jones has been a police officer since 1996, and is currently a member of the Warrensville Police Department, a community just outside Cleveland. She’s a mother and married to a fellow police officer.
“My heart goes out to that young man’s family because if it was my son I don’t know what I would do.”
READ MORE: Alton Sterling’s 15-year-old son weeps during his mother’s emotional speech
The community needs to stand together to be strong, Jones says, and become strong role models for today’s youth. She says she will continue to be a police officer so she can continue to do the right thing and strengthen her community.
“To my…juvenile brothers and sisters, I am your keeper. Put them guns down, we killing each other.”
By Thursday afternoon the video had been viewed 3.9 million times, with more than 190,000 shares.
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