Kansas firefighter reportedly spat on a black child and hurled racial slurs at a restaurant — and then tried to assure police he was on their side.
The preschool-age boy wandered away from a family birthday party Monday evening at Hooters restaurant in Overland Park, and the man spit on the child and called him a racial slur after a family member came to get the boy, reported KCTV-TV.
“He basically said get that little ‘blank’ up off the floor,†a witness told the TV station. “The N-word started to get thrown around.â€
The witness said he was about five feet away from the confrontation, and he was surprised the man’s actions didn’t provoke a physical confrontation.
Police quickly arrived to intervene — and the witness said the racist man tried to use his status as a first responder to escape responsibility.
“I didn’t catch what the officer said to him, but his immediate response was ‘It’s okay, I’m a fireman,’ like that was supposed to blanket cover everything for him,†the witness said.
The boy’s family confirmed to KCTV that the firefighter, whose name has not been released, spat on the child while they were celebrating with about two dozen friends and relatives.
Overland Park police said they are continuing to question witnesses about the incident, but the firefighter could be charged with battery and criminal threat in the incident.
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