A white officer with the Eugene Police Department resigned last month after a local activist posted body camera video online showing him using racist and offensive language.
One video captured former Officer Martin Siller just after he responded to protests against federal immigration enforcement outside the old federal building in Eugene on Jan. 30, which police had declared a riot.
Federal agents had dispersed the crowd with tear gas. People who attended spray-painted the building and displayed signs protesting against violent ICE activity in Oregon and the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis three weeks earlier.
Bodycam Video Sparks Outrage After Racist Remarks Go Viral
Siller is heard on the video talking to another officer on the phone and to officers near his patrol car.
In the phone conversation, the two officers called protesters at the event “unemployed,” talked casually about other officers they knew who had been accused of domestic violence, and shared racist and offensive stereotypes about Black people.
While discussing sea cruises, the unidentified officer — allegedly a former colleague of Siller’s from the West Valley City Police Department in Utah, where Siller worked for 20 years — tells Siller that Black people don’t go on cruises because “they can’t swim. You’ve got to be able to swim if you go.”
Siller replies, “Yeah, they like to just be grounded with their watermelon and fried chicken.”
In another 15-minute video of body camera footage from Siller, recorded on the same day in January, Siller drives around in his patrol vehicle while listening to “The Megyn Kelly Show.” Kelly is relishing the arrest of journalist Don Lemon for his role in a recent ICE protest at a church in St. Paul. She plays audio of some protesters chanting about the death of Good and abuse of Somali immigrants in Minnesota.
“Just so you know, I’m a supporter of ICE,” Siller says out loud, while driving. “F–k the Somali and Latino communities. I’m about American communities, I’m about America, son.”
Police Chief Calls Officer an ‘Equal Opportunity Racist’
After Eugene activist Tim Lewis obtained and posted a compilation video of Siller’s offensive banter on his YouTube “Copwatch” channel on May 8, the video quickly went viral on social media and spurred condemnation of the officer and the Eugene Police Department by local residents.
On May 11, Eugene police released two videos, shared on social media, with more extensive clips from Siller’s body camera, along with a message that “the officer depicted in the video is no longer a member of the Eugene Police Department.”
In a press conference that day, Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner described Martin Siller as an “equal opportunity racist,” stating that both the community and the department have been harmed by his actions, the Eugene Register-Guard reported.
“My focus right now is to make sure this guy is never a police officer again,” Skinner told reporters. He was accompanied by Eugene Police Auditor Craig Renetzky.
“Officer Siller not only managed to offend a big portion of our community that day, but he also offended a big portion of this organization, too. We’ve got officers of color and a variety of demographics represented here that were deeply offended as well,” Skinner said, adding that he doesn’t blame the community for being “pissed off.”
“What was said in that video is unacceptable,” Skinner continued. “It was wrong, disrespectful, and completely inconsistent with the values of the Eugene Police Department. There is no excuse for racist remarks from anyone who wears this badge.”
Officer Resigned Before Termination Could Take Effect
He noted that Siller, who had served on the Eugene police for seven years, had turned in his gun and badge “before disciplinary action could be taken,” essentially resigning before he could be fired.
Renetzky confirmed that, had Siller not stepped down, his actions would have resulted in immediate termination. Renetzky said he had identified multiple policy violations based on the video footage, including bias and misconduct.
Skinner said there were no complaints or red flags regarding Siller’s service to the community or in his background information.
“There was nothing jumping off the page saying this person should have never been at the Eugene Police Department,” he said
“This incident, much like any other incident like this that happens, there’s probably nothing I can do in the short term to repair this,” Skinner said. “We understand the fragility of trust with our community and understand that trust is earned.”
The police chief said the video first came to light on May 9 because the police department gave the Justice Department the body camera footage in connection with an arrest made at the protest event.
Renetzky said in the next phase of the investigation, his office will examine how the police department could have done better, if other officers were aware of his racist views and misconduct, and add more bias training for officers.
“I also understand this community expects more than words and more than a resignation,” Skinner said in a written statement. “Accountability must be real, and trust must be earned through action. We will continue reviewing our policies, training, supervision, and culture to ensure this kind of conduct is never tolerated inside this department.”
“To the residents of Eugene: we hear your outrage. We hear your disappointment. And we accept the responsibility to do better.”
NAACP Demands Action Beyond Resignation and Apologies
NAACP of Eugene-Springfield officials called the body-worn camera footage “disturbing” and labeled the casual and joking tone of the phone call as “troubling,” the Register-Guard reported.
In a letter titled, “Moving from dehumanization to Collective Action,” the NAACP recommended three strategies to guide the community forward, calling for an end to police lawlessness, brutality and racism; cultural change through connection over division; and collective organizing around domestic violence prevention, racial justice and immigrant rights.
“When violence like this becomes something to laugh about, it reveals a system that grants extraordinary authority to police who are given the right to kill and commit human rights violations against whomever they choose,” NAACP officials wrote.
