A Passaic, NJ, police officer has become the focus of a citywide protest against police harassment after a YouTube video made its rounds online over the weekend. In the video, the officer in question can be seen making disparaging remarks about immigrants to a couple of teenagers.
Sgt. Roy Bordamonte was recorded back in February when he approached Passaic residents Jasmin Vidal, Esteban Zuniga and another unnamed individual while they were hanging out on the front porch of their home. According to Vidal, Sgt. Bordamonte drove up in a patrol car to the front of the house, and spoke to them. The teens challenged him to get out of the car, which angered the officer. Sgt. Bordamonte did as the teens requested, and approached them. Then, he began a verbal tirade consisting of foul language, racially insensitive speech about Mexican immigrants and threats, which Vidal recorded on her phone.
In the video, Sgt. Bordamonte — who is of Filipino descent — is heard saying things like, “Don't worry, I'm going to knock on your f—king door, and I'm going to check your mom and dad's ID, and all your f—king cousins and relatives, and when they give me a bulls—t f—king name, I'm going to have immigration pick everybody up so they can go back to the f—king border or wherever the f—k they came from. And all the hard work they went through to come to America, you f—ked it up.” Later in the recording, the officer adds, “Will I see that smile when I drag your mom and dad back to the f—ing border? I’ll make this s—t f—king like Texas, bro.”
It is unclear what made the officer stop specifically at this house or what he said to the individuals to make them ask him to “get out of the car and find out.”
The whole ordeal sparked a protest in front of Passaic City Hall on Tuesday, September 22, with hundreds of city residents of all ethnicities demanding the dismissal of Bordamonte.
Passaic Mayor Alex Blanco — who is a descendent of immigrants himself — didn’t address the protestors directly, but he did email the following statement to NBC: "I am asking for calm and restraint so that the city's internal affairs office has the time necessary to gather all information and complete the review necessary to make smart and well thought-out decisions.”
An online petition asking New Jersey senators Robert Menendez and Cory Booker to push for the immediate dismissal of Sgt. Bordamonte has accumulated over 1,500 signatures.
- Article on Latina.com, written by Emmanuel Ureña