A Kentucky news station obtained video footage from a September traffic accident that shows a local fire chief refusing to help a black family even though he provided assistance above and beyond what was called for to a white driver that was involved in the same accident. Not only did the fire chief refuse to help the family of four, he told a deputy that was on the scene that he wasn’t “taking no n***ers here” and then laughed. The same fire chief also dismissed an Asian reporter’s questions during an open meeting last week by asking the reporter if she understood English.
The video footage from the accident that was obtained by WDRB was from a body camera worn by a Bullitt County Sheriff’s deputy. The deputy’s camera showed the fire chief, Julius Hatfield, offering to assist the white driver, Loren Dicken. Hatfield tells Dicken that he’ll have some of his firefighters repair his truck’s tire while Dicken goes to the hospital to be examined. Per Hatfield’s conservation with Dicken, this would allow Dicken to avoid a towing bill. WDRB also discovered that firefighters picked up Dicken from the hospital and took him to his truck, which was waiting for him at the firehouse.
Meanwhile, the other driver, Chege Mwangi, was not provided anywhere near the same amount of assistance. Despite having his wife and two children in the car, he was essentially shunted off to the side. While Dicken was being doted on by the firefighters and his truck was being tended to, the deputy asked Hatfield what they should do with the family. That is when Hatfield said, “We ain’t taking no n***ers here.” After that conversation, the deputy asks Mwangi if he has AAA to help him with his car. Mwangi, for his part, says he found the deputy to be helpful but did notice he was not provided with the same treatment. He let it go at the time since he was uninjured.
WDRB also played footage of Hatfield at an open community meeting last week where he disparaged reporter Valerie Chinn. When Chinn asked him about potential mismanagement of finances due to a number of empty firehouses in the district, Hatfield repeatedly asked her if she understood English. Below is a recap from WDRB’s website:
“Why are there so many firehouses that are empty?” WDRB’s Valerie Chinn asked Hatfield at the meeting.
“Do you understand English darling?” Hatfield replied. “Do you understand English?”
Hatfield tried to have Chinn and her photographer removed from the public meeting.
“Turn that camera off,” Hatfield ordered. “I’ve asked you that in a nice way. Buddy, call the cops and get them here.”
“I asked you once tonight if you understand English,” he added. “I’m speaking English.”
Below is video of the news segment, courtesy of WDRB:
Sadly, it is not all that uncommon to find unrepentant racists in positions of authority within communities. Earlier this year, a police commissioner in New Hampshire loudly called President Obama the N-word while at a restaurant. When confronted about it in May, he refused to apologize and stood by the remarks. He initially declined to step down from his position and the commission didn’t force him out. However, he eventually resigned in the end. This past July in Florida, a deputy police chief resigned and another police officer was fired after the FBI informed the police department that both men were members of the Ku Klux Klan.
These are just two examples that made national headlines. There are surely more instances of overt racism being displayed by local authorities that haven’t been caught on video or led to firings. However, to hear it from white conservatives, we live in a post-racial society because America elected a black president. Racism is a thing of the past and only used by liberals and race hustlers to create division among the races. Mmm-hmmm.
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