Three White officers of the Ottawa Police Service were caught on camera complaining that "the White man's day is done." They blamed the supposed new difficulty on a cultural trend toward greater diversity in Canada, where they live.
The video, posted by TikTok user Andrew Younis, appeared to take place in the parking area of a private residence, which a security camera was positioned to record both video and audio.
According to Younis' caption on the video, which has netted over 140,000 views since it was posted three days ago, the three officers arrived at his Black friend's house to "harass him."
While they stood around in the garage waiting for something, they began to make chit chat about the current state of affairs in Canada.
The conversation began when one officer laid it all out:
"Our days are done, the White man's days are done."
The other two cops chimed in immediately to agree with the claim.
The first officer then continued his thought.
"Well it's true, the uh, even the population of North America. [White people] are the minority, I think, at this point."
Then one of the other officers smoothed over the statistic:
"If you put all the different groups together ya, I think we're the minority."
This is incorrect.
According to the 2016 Canadian census, 72.9% of the country's population was White. According to the 2019 U.S. census, 76.3% of the population was White. A 100% non-White Mexico—which is not the reality as Mexico was colonized by White European just as Canada and the United States were—still would not make White the minority in North America.
The first officer, continued on, this time complaining about recent changes he's noticed across Canada.
"You go to Toronto and every couple you see walking by is a mixed couple...White-Asian, White-East Indian."
"I told my son he can find a Chinese or an Asian girlfriend if he wants to stay in a mixed...Get your foot in the door."
The overheard conversation compelled a variety of responses from TikTok viewers.
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But things only grew more concerning when Younis posted two more clips that showed how the incident developed in the moments following.
First, when the resident's girlfriend comes home, they made lewd comments and plotted how to use "leverage" against her to manipulate the situation.
Then in a third video, one of the officers described the resident as a "big Black guy" who "you won't miss," and then went on to describe him as "a waste of life I think."
Those two follow up clips provoked even more outrage from TikTok viewers.
nicole/TikTok
Forrest DiMarco/TikTok
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Jo Jo/TikTok
Amber/TikTok
According to CBC News, a spokesperson for the Ottawa Police Service assured that they've launched "an active professional standards unit investigation regarding it."
The spokesperson went on to denounce their officers' behavior outright.
"Regardless of the intent, the comments expressed in the video have negatively impacted community members and service members."
"The comments are offensive and they have further eroded public trust as well as internal morale...such statements are not consistent with the values of the Ottawa Police Service and they have no place in the policing profession."
The TikTok was yet another video that makes you wonder just how many such moments go unseen and uncaptured by security cameras or smartphones.
