A TODDLER who was sworn at and encouraged to swear back in a sickening video posted online has now been taken into protective custody, local police say.The Omaha Police Officers Association in the US state of Nebraska controversially shared the video on its website earlier this week, saying it wanted to stimulate discussion about problems in the community, Fox News reports.
The video, which was taken using a phone camera, shows a diapered African American toddler being harangued with racial slurs and obscenities from several adults, who are off-camera. The boy responds with his own obscenities, and at one point raises his middle finger.
The police union says it found the clip on the Facebook page of a local gang member.
'Folks ... this video is bad,' the union said on its website. '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.
'Now while we didn't see anything in this video that is blatantly 'illegal', we sure did see a lot that is flat out immoral and completely unhealthy for this little child from a healthy upbringing standpoint.'
Critics say discussion could be stimulated just as easily without subjecting the toddler to widespread ridicule.
'It's almost like the kid was abused twice - once by the people in the video and once by the Police Officers Association,' said Willie Hamilton, executive director of Black Men United, a group which works to 'strengthen families'.
'If the overall goal was to educate people about the problems, this was an inept way to do it.'
Others objected to perceived racial overtones in the union's post, which repeatedly referred to 'thugs' and 'gang violence'.
'As a union employee and member, I'm ashamed that this post exists. Not because of the video, but because of the racism. But hey, at least he'll learn early that he's nothing but an n-word to society,' Joshua David wrote on the union's Facebook page.
In a press release earlier today, police said four children, including the toddler from the video, were removed from the home and taken into protective custody.
The Omaha Police Department reviewed the clip with prosecutors and determined no criminal activities had occurred. But police also spoke to Child Protective Services, reaching the conclusion that there were safety concerns in the home which warranted the children's removal.
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Posted by Unknown on Thursday, January 9, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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