BULLITT COUNTY, Ky. — A fire chief is under fire after video surfaced of him using the N-word at the scene of a traffic incident.
Southeast Bullitt Fire Chief Julius Hatfield’s department is already being audited by the state over allegations of financial mismanagement. The traffic incident occurred in September.
“We ain’t taking no n-----s here,” Chief Hatfield said to a Bullitt County Sheriff’s deputy at the site of a car crash involving an African-American family and a white man, according to body-cam footage obtained by WDRB-TV.
On the video, Chief Hatfield is seen offering help to the white driver.
“You got a jack, ain’t you?” Hatfield asked. “If you show me where them things is at, I’ll get my guys to start changing the tire for you,” he told the driver.
The other car, containing an African-American couple and their two kids, were told to call AAA for help, according to the report. The driver, Chege Mwang, told the station that he was treated differently than the other motorist, but didn’t think anything of it at the time because he and his family were not hurt.
The station reported another incident in which its Asian-American TV journalist Valerie Chinn attended an open department meeting and tried to ask questions about the mismanagement accusations.
“Do you understand English, darling?” Chief Hatfield said on camera. “Do you understand English? Call the cops and get them here. I asked you once tonight if you understand English. I’m speaking English.”
Chief Hatfield later apologized to Chinn.
He said he didn’t remember the crash incident and “sometimes there is a slip of the tongue,” the station reported.