Chicago police officer's alleged Michael Brown comment under investigation

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A comment made by a Chicago police officer during a traffic stop is now under investigation.

That officer is accused of making a racially-charged statement that was caught on video.

OFFICER: "It's all black people that live here so I got no choice but to *expletive* pull over black people."

WITNESS: "Yeah?"

OFFICER: "You don't like it, move."

The quick, videotaped exchange between a witness to a traffic stop and plain clothes police officer quickly degenerated into a war of words. The witness tells the officer he's recording him because he doesn't trust police due to incidents like the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.

WITNESS: "We don't trust y'all. You heard about Mike Brown."

OFFICER: "Mike Brown deserved it. He got what he had coming."

It's that comment, posted on YouTube and first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, that has police investigating and people talking.

"Yeah, that's the disturbing part," said Everloyce McCullough, Mothers Against Senseless Killings.

McCullough has been on the front lines of the effort to build bridges between the public and police. The overwhelming presence of her group Mothers Against Senseless Killings in Englewood this summer is credited with contributing to two shooting and murder-free weekends in that community.

"This just infuriates the situation, this just adds gasoline to the fire," McCullough said.

Police agree - they've identified the officer seen in the video. And a police spokesperson said: "The comments in this video are troubling and do not represent the views of this department."

Community activists like McCullough say they worry about the cumulative effect of interactions like this.

"All of these things add up. It's just another slap in the face," McCullough said.

ABC7 reviewed records of complaints regarding alleged verbal abuse by officers reported to the Independent Police Review Authority.

There were 158 filed in 2011 and 2012 - the most recent years that data is available.

But the agency doesn't track how many were found to be verified. In most cases, it's a cop's word against a complainant.

In this case, Internal Affairs is handling the investigation and the officer may face some form of discipline.