3 North Carolina Police Officers Fired For Conversation On 'Slaughtering' Black People, Second Civil War

The Wilmington Police Department in North Carolina has fired three officers after an internal investigation revealed they were talking about “slaughtering” Black people and having a second Civil War to “wipe out” African Americans.

Officers Kevin Piner, Brian Gilmore, and Cpl. Jessie Moore were relieved of their duties because of misconduct, violations of the department’s policies, and use of hate-filled and threatening language, Wilmington Chief Donny William said in a statement Wednesday (June 24).

The conversations were revealed during a routine video audit of the officers’ body cameras in early June. The supervisor doing the audit came across two recordings from Piner’s police car that were “accidental activations.”

The supervisor heard the officers talk about the protests across the nation and in Wilmington. A report by the department described their conversations as “extremely racist.” The three officers also said offensive things about their department and some other officers, Black officers in particular.

Later in the conversation, the officers used racial slurs. The supervisor also heard Piner telling Moore that he was going to buy an assault rifle and that he was "ready" for a Civil War that he felt was coming. Moore, however, said he would not do that.

“Officer Piner then explained to Cpl. Moore that he felt society needed a Civil War to ‘wipe ’em off the f**k**g map. That’ll put ’em back about four or five generations,’” details from the recordings revealed. Moore responded saying, "you're crazy."

In the press release, Chief Williams said Moore, Piner, and Gilmore were terminated to “maintain public confidence in the city's administration and the police department.” Wednesday was Williams’ first day as the new chief, according to Port City Daily.

The fired officers neither denied nor contested the recordings. They admitted that they were venting their frustrations and said it was because of the stresses dealing with their employment. The report from the investigation stated that none of the officers believed they were being racists.

Williams said he will notify the North Carolina Criminal Justice Training and Standards Commission that he won't recommend these officers for rehiring. The chief has also ordered mandatory Implicit Bias Training for those working within his police department.