Police officers were targeted with homophobic slurs by a federal prosecutor. (Stock/Pexels)
An assistant US attorney who was arrested for drink driving called arresting officers homophobic, ableist and misogynistic slurs.
The prosecutor – who has not been named and has since left his post – co-operated at first with police officers when he was arrested, but quickly became hostile.
According to an inspector general report acquired by Buzzfeed News, the then-attorney became abusive following a field sobriety test.
One of his arresting officer said the prosecutor called him a “f****t”, “dumb rookie” and “r****ded”.
Other police officers interviewed in the report said they heard the prosecutor refer to colleagues using the ableist slur “r****d” and also heard him call officers “pussy” and “b***h”.
The unnamed prosecutor used homophobic slurs when he was arrested for drink driving.
In total, nine law enforcement officers were interviewed for the inspector general report. All of them reported hearing the prosecutor use the homophobic slur “f****t”.
A witness at the jail said the prosecutor threatened to “sue his a*s”. Others reported hearing similar threats.
The report said the prosecutor told arresting officers that he would “prosecute every single one” of them and added: “Do you know who the f**k I am?”
One witness interviewed in the report said the prosecutor told him: “You don’t know who you are messing with. I’m going to have all of your jobs.”
You don’t know who you are messing with. I’m going to have all of your jobs.
The report was released to Buzzfeed this week under freedom of information laws, but the prosecutor’s name and identifying details were redacted.
The assistant United States attorney refused to comply with the inspector general’s investigation into his conduct. He later resigned from his position.
A prosecutor can compel employees of the Justice Department to testify, but they lose that power once the prosecutor has left their post.
He later pleaded guilty to driving under the influence.
In the course of the investigation, the inspector general accessed body camera footage of the arrest as well as video evidence from the jail.
The video footage showed that the prosecutor argued with employees at the jail and attempted to “physically resist” them.
The unnamed prosecutor later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour charge of driving under the influence. His sentence was redacted in the report.
The inspector general concluded that the prosecutor’s attempted to misuse his position of authority to gain an advantage to which he was not entitled.
“Specifically (redacted) repeatedly asked the arresting officers to release him and verbally abused and threatened jail officials when he was asked to submit to normal prisoner protocols in an attempt to gain favourable treatment at the jail by having fewer restrictions placed upon him than other prisoners,” the report said.
“This conduct was an attempt to use a public office, position, or title to coerce or induce another person to provide a benefit.”