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A white Detroit police officer — already suspended and demoted for allegedly making racially demeaning social media post — is being investigated for a possible second, offensive statement, according to a published report.
The department took action last week against officer Gary Steele, an 18-year veteran of the force, and his partner for their stop a female black motorist, 23-year-old Ariel Moore, NBC affiliate WDIV reported.
Moore was driving with an expired license plate and police seized her car, forcing the woman to walk home. Steele's Snapchat account showed Moore walking home as he says "priceless" and "bye Felicia," WDIV said
"What black girl magic looks like" and "celebrating Black History Month" according to a caption tag of the the demoted and reassigned officer's Snapchat that was posted last week.
Now Steele is being investigated for making a similar Snapchat video in 2017 after impounding a black family's car and making them walk home with their Christmas gifts in tow, Detroit Police Chief James Craig said.
"On the heels of the incident last week, an officer posted in a private Facebook group 'if you think this was bad, the Christmas incident was even worse than that,' " Craig told the Detroit News. "We tracked down the officer, and found he is now working for another law enforcement agency."
"When we reached out to him, he indicated that (Steele) had impounded a car during Christmas two years ago," Craig continued. "The kids had gifts, and while the kids were walking home carrying their gifts, (Steele) supposedly made another Snapchat video saying 'walk of shame' and other racially-insensitive remarks."
A rep for the Detroit Police Officers Association could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday.