Last week a video surfaced from a little over a year ago, just days after Philando Castile was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. In the video a white woman pulled over in Cobb County, Georgia for suspected DUI says she is nervous about reaching for her wallet because of recent footage she has seen of police brutality. This was a rational concern and well within her rights as a citizen to voice. However, the officer answered her with this:

“But you’re not black,…”Remember, we only shoot black people. Yeah. We only kill black people, right? All the videos you’ve seen, have you seen the black people get killed?”

As soon as news outlets reported the story, people leaped out of the woodwork to wave it away and say it was only a joke. I had naively hoped that just about everyone would immediately see how wrong this was, but of course they did not. When your job gives you the power to kill people in the name of the law, should you tell jokes about it? How could you be so light hearted about a subject that strikes terror and hopelessness in the hearts of so many? Individuals who are not white have lost their lives over trivial things like reporting a burglary.

The incidents you joke about are the reason some parents have to tell their child to be compliant and not make any sudden moves around police officers, while others feel they cannot even call the police when they are in danger.

Fortunately, this officer is going to be fired for his unprofessional and tasteless comments.

I live in Atlanta myself, and have family and friends throughout the city and surrounding counties. I want to believe that all the police officers in my community want to keep everyone safe, but for quite some time I have heard stories that tell otherwise. Among many Atlantans, particularly those of color, there is a sort of grim common knowledge that if you get stopped by the police in certain counties you better hope you don’t get one of the bad ones.

Whether we choose to admit it or not, while many cops are heroic and well intentioned, others are not. It is a dangerous job, and racist and/or violent officers make it far more dangerous for everyone involved. The FBI issued a report 10 years ago that listed white supremacists infiltrating law enforcement as a major threat to national security. The worst part of this is that law enforcement officials who abuse their power often face little to no repercussions.

I write this not for those who understand that comments like the Cobb County officers are disrespectful and horrifying, but for those who somehow still don’t. Our president jumped at the chance to pardon Joe Arpaio, a sheriff indicted for racial profiling and a myriad of human rights violations. The very people that laugh this off with an “all lives matter” seem to think that some lives are a joke.