Omaha police union defends posting video of cursing toddler, says it depicts ‘thug cycle’
The Omaha Police Officers Association is under fire for posting a video of a black toddler cursing on its website. The video, which features a black boy who is around 2, was posted to the site as an example of the “thug cycle.”
Below is language that accompanied the video.
From the Omaha Police Officers Association:
“So a loyal follower alerted us to a local thug’s public Facebook page today. She was outraged about what the thug had just posted for all to see.
We here at OmahaPOA.com viewed the video and we knew that despite the fact that it is sickening, heartbreaking footage, we have an obligation to share it to continue to educate the law abiding public about the terrible cycle of violence and thuggery that some young innocent children find themselves helplessly trapped in.”
Read more from Omaha Police Officers Association
The city’s police chief, the ACLU and community leader condemn the union’s posting of the video. They say the move antagonizes the city’s minority population.
Willie Hamilton, president of the community activist group Black Men United, told CNN the union “crossed a line by doing this.”
“For them to take a video out of context — a 2-year-old who doesn’t have the brain capacity to know what’s going on — and to say that this child, because two adults acted inappropriately, is going to end up in a life of crime is totally inappropriate,” Hamilton said.
Watch the disturbing video (Warning: Graphic language, NSFW)
Who’s more the blame?
The police union for posting the video, or the guardians responsible for the child who filmed and uploaded it?
Sound off below!