November 20, 201411 yr Post-Racial America: Fire Chief Uses N-Word To Describe Black Family While Refusing Them Help A Kentucky news station obtained video footage from a September traffic accident that shows a local fire chief refusing to help a black family even though he provided assistance above and beyond what was called for to a white driver that was involved in the same accident. Not only did the fire chief refuse to help the family of four, he told a deputy that was on the scene that he wasn’t “taking no N-Word's here” and then laughed. The same fire chief also dismissed an Asian reporter’s questions during an open meeting last week by asking the reporter if she understood English. The video footage from the accident that was obtained by WDRB was from a body camera worn by a Bullitt County Sheriff’s deputy. The deputy’s camera showed the fire chief, Julius Hatfield, offering to assist the white driver, Loren Dicken. Hatfield tells Dicken that he’ll have some of his firefighters repair his truck’s tire while Dicken goes to the hospital to be examined. Per Hatfield’s conservation with Dicken, this would allow Dicken to avoid a towing bill. WDRB also discovered that firefighters picked up Dicken from the hospital and took him to his truck, which was waiting for him at the firehouse. Meanwhile, the other driver, Chege Mwangi, was not provided anywhere near the same amount of assistance. Despite having his wife and two children in the car, he was essentially shunted off to the side. While Dicken was being doted on by the firefighters and his truck was being tended to, the deputy asked Hatfield what they should do with the family. That is when Hatfield said, “We ain’t taking no N-Word's here.” After that conversation, the deputy asks Mwangi if he has AAA to help him with his car. Mwangi, for his part, says he found the deputy to be helpful but did notice he was not provided with the same treatment. He let it go at the time since he was uninjured. WDRB also played footage of Hatfield at an open community meeting last week where he disparaged reporter Valerie Chinn. When Chinn asked him about potential mismanagement of finances due to a number of empty firehouses in the district, Hatfield repeatedly asked her if she understood English. Below is a recap from WDRB’s website:
November 20, 201411 yr Author A: What should be done with this guy? B: Is his job an elected position? C: Does anyone know him?
November 20, 201411 yr Why does a Fire Chief ask the guy for his drivers license and proof of insurance?
November 20, 201411 yr Let me pretend to be suprised... I tried, can't even pretend. Just another day in Rural KY.
November 20, 201411 yr One bad egg dont make all whites like that, just like 1 bad cop dont mean they are all bad. Yes he should be fired.
November 20, 201411 yr One bad egg dont make all whites like that, jsut like 1 bad cop dotn mean they are all bad. Yes he should be fired. Absolutely correct.
November 20, 201411 yr Let me pretend to be suprised... I tried, can't even pretend. Just another day in Rural KY. Not all are like that. There are plenty of cases of blacks treating whites bad, does that mean all blacks are racist.
November 20, 201411 yr Not all are like that. There are plenty of cases of blacks treating whites bad, does that mean all blacks are racist. I didn't say everybody was like that...
November 20, 201411 yr He HAS to be fired. If I'm black, Asian, Latino...anything other than white...then I have to think I might not get the level of service or care I might need if involved in an accident, fire, medical emergency, etc. Heck, even as a white guy myself after seeing that I wouldn't trust him. I have NO trust in this guy to protect and serve the public safety at large. He has to go, point blank.
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