A Miami police captain is currently on indefinite leave after claiming he is black on a form applying for a promotion. He had previously identified himself as a white Hispanic man.
Capt. Javier Ortiz was called before the city commissioners to address the Miami's Community Police Benevolent Association's complaint against Ortiz that he claimed he was black.
When questioned about this, Ortiz doubled down on the claim.
On his initial police officer application, Ortiz had marked that he was a white Hispanic man. However, when he applied for a promotion, he instead selected that he was black.
"I'm a black male. Yes, I am. And I am not Hispanic. I was born in this country. That's how I feel."
He later tried to defend himself with the archaic and incredibly racist "one drop rule."
"And if you know anything about the 'one-drop rule', which started in the 20th century, which is what identifies and defines what a black male is, or a Negro, you would know if you have one drop of black in you, you are considered black"
He even took to Twitter to defend himself.
It didn't take long for Twitter to drag him hard.
Rubin Roberts, the chairman of the Miami-Dade branch of the NAACP has taken the remarks of Ortiz very seriously.
He said:
"The city should be made aware that the statement he made is incendiary. He's not in any way considerate of black men or women's plight."
Police Chief Jorge Colina, who previously suspended Ortiz after another incident, is meeting with human resources and attorneys to respond to Ortiz's comments, saying:
"You can't make a knee-jerk decision. I don't want to be sued by the [Fraternal Order of Police union]."
"I know a lot of people are emotional about it. It's perplexing to me as well."
The whole scenario has led to intense debate.
Whatever Ortiz's plan was, it didn't work. The captain has been suspended with pay pending an investigation.
This isn't the first time Ortiz has been in trouble. As previously mentioned, he faced charges and a restraining order for harassing a civilian after she made complaints about the police.
He was suspended from duty pending an investigation into that matter.
The charge was eventually dropped, but that is not a good history.
Ortiz also drew national attention in 2016, after penning a letter to FOP organizations about boycotting Beyoncé. He claimed the singer's Super Bowl performance was "anti-police" and argued they shouldn't go to her concerts anymore.
Mount Sinai Medical
@Acyn/X