A lieutenant from the Cobb County Police Department in Georgia is under investigation after a dash-cam video obtained by Channel 2 Action News appears to show the officer telling a driver during a DUI stop, “Remember, we only kill black people.”
Lt. Greg Abbott reportedly asked the driver to grab her cell phone, but she replied she’s afraid to move her hands because she has “just seen way too many videos of cops…”
Abbot responds, “But, you’re not black. Remember, we only shoot black people. We only kill black people, right? All the videos you’ve seen, have you seen the black people get killed?”
The incident occurred in July 2016, and it was brought to light on Wednesday after Channel 2 Action News’ open-records request on Friday.

Lt. Greg Abbott:“Remember, we only kill black people.”

In a statement to Channel 2, Lance LoRusso, Abbott’s attorney, tried to give context to his client’s actions. Lt. Abbott is cooperating with the investigation LoRusso said, and “his comments must be observed in their totality to understand their context.”
“He was attempting to de-escalate a situation involving an uncooperative passenger. In context, his comments were clearly aimed at attempting to gain compliance by using the passenger’s own statements and reasoning to avoid making an arrest,” said LoRusso.
Suri Chadha Jimenez, the attorney who representing the driver of the vehicle involved in the incident, said she believes the officer’s response was sarcastic because the woman, “gave him some lip,” but nonetheless said, “it makes you cringe when you hear it.