Warning: This article contains discussion of racial discrimination which some readers may find distressing.
A police officer who posted a disgusting video on social media, where she rants about ‘Black people’, has been removed from duty by her department.
A video containing an extreme racist tirade has spread online, prompting Houston Police Department to take the officer off duty. She has been identified locally as Ashley Gonzalez, and the footage triggered swift public backlash.
In the clip, filmed inside her car, the Texas-based officer appears to describe a confrontation in which she claims she assaulted a Black person she alleges stole her purse. Throughout the recording, she repeatedly uses the N-word.
While still employed as an officer at the time, Gonzalez directs hateful remarks at the very community she was sworn to protect. At one point, she says she “will always and forever say that I f*****g hate [N-word].”
She also made comments dismissing the legacy of slavery, stating: “‘Oh, we were slaves,’ I don’t give a f**k, [racist slur], like for a f**king reason you guys were f**king slaves.”
In another segment shared widely on Facebook, Gonzalez says she “hates Black people,” and adds: “let me get a f**king Black person on a 911 call, tomorrow especially, they’re going to f**king jail”.
She also recounts a separate incident involving an unnamed man she says tried to take her purse, claiming she “whooped the f**k out of that [racist slur] a**”.
Local reporting says Gonzalez previously served in the Marine Corps from 2019 to 2023, reaching the rank of corporal, and later became an HPD officer after being sworn in during January 2024.
Her rant continues in the video: “Y’all don’t know how good it felt to say [racial slur] out loud. Oh my God, I felt like I was back in the Marine Corps. I felt like the world just stopped. It felt like peace.”
The footage has drawn condemnation from civil rights and community groups, including the NAACP, whose local chapter described Gonzalez as having a “sick mindset” and warned it was “violence waiting to happen”.
The Afro American Police Officers League said it was appalled by the statements, accusing Gonzalez of “spewing hatred, racism, and de-humanizing Black people by referring to them as ‘chimps’.”
The group also criticized HPD’s handling of the situation, saying: “Nearly an entire workday has passed where our department leadership has yet to put out a formal statement to its officers or to the public not condoning this behavior, which was distasteful, disgraceful, disrespectful and despicable.”
HPD has not publicly confirmed specific details about the clip, but the local police union branch has issued its own response.
“The Houston Police Officers Union is extremely disturbed by a video circulating on social media regarding an officer making offensive, racist comments,” the statement reads.
“In no way does the HPOU or its leadership condone or tolerate racist behavior from any of our officers.”
Houston Police Department is continuing to investigate the video and the officer’s actions. Gonzalez remains employed while the process is ongoing, but she has reportedly been ordered to surrender her badge and firearm in the interim.
If you have been the victim of discrimination, you can report it via the US Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division here. In an emergency, always call 911.