Kentucky Fire Chief Caught On Camera Refusing To Help Black Family In Need Of Help, Using Racial Slur

The fire chief in Bullitt County, Kentucky, has been caught on camera refusing to help a black family in need of help after a car wreck and using a racial slur in the process, WDRB (Louisville) is reporting.

Southeast Bullitt Fire Chief Julius Hatfield was caught using the racial slur on a body camera worn by a police officer on the scene of a car wreck in September, but only recently emerged thanks to WDRB’s investigation into fraud and mismanagement into Hatfield’s department.

According to the Independent, on an unspecified date in September, Loren Dicken, a white man, was involved in a crash with Chege Mwangi, a black man who was driving with his family. Mwangi noted that the Southeast Bullitt Fire Department — Hatfield included — took special care to make sure all of Loren’s needs were met, including changing a flat tire for him, personally seeing him to an ambulance, and giving him a ride to the garage to pick up his vehicle after he left the hospital. Mwangi, meanwhile, got no such treatment but he didn’t think anything of it at the time since unlike Loren, neither he nor his passengers were injured.

The Kentucky fire chief’s use of the racial slur came about after a police officer asked him what should be done with Mwangi and his family.

“We ain’t taking no n******s here.”

Mr. Mwangi said that at the time of the accident he dealt with the Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office rather than the Fire Department. He says the Sheriff’s Office was kind and helpful.

This was not Mr. Hatfield’s first time being caught on camera using racially-insensitive language. During a public meeting, WDRB reporter Valerie Chinn, who is Asian-American, asked Hatfield about empty firehouses in his district.

“Do you understand English darling? Do you understand English?”

Asked about the incident where he used a racial slur, Hatfield attempted to justify his actions, saying “sometimes there’s a slip of the tongue.”

The Kentucky State Auditor’s Office is currently reviewing the District’s finances but, as of this post, their findings have not been released. Also, as of this post, the Kentucky fire chief is not known to be facing any disciplinary action for his use of racial slurs.