BELLEVUE, Idaho — An Idaho officer is in the middle of controversy after posting a TikTok that has since gone viral.
In the video, the deputy with the Bellevue Marshal's Office mocks NBA star LeBron James for a recently-deleted tweet in regards to the fatal Columbus, Ohio Police shooting of 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant.
Deputy Nate Silvester pretends to be responding to a disturbance call where one man is stabbing another and "calls" James to see how he should respond to the situation.
@nateswildn ##DoritosDuetRoulette ##lebron ##comedy ##humanizethebadge ##copsoftiktok ##fypシ ##foryou
“LeBron, 'hey, yeah, it’s me again. Listen, I got two guys fighting over here and one of them has got a knife and wants to stab the other guy. What do you think I should do? Why does it matter what their race is? Alright well, they’re both Black. OK, but he’s trying to stab the other guy. Deadly force is totally justified,” said Silvester.
Silvester has over 200,000 followers on the social media app with the controversial post accumulating 4.2 million views.
Much of the controversy surrounding the video stems from Silvester appearing in uniform while in his patrol car.
The Bellevue Marshal's Office says Silvester's statements do not represent the department, and this isn't how they expect their deputies to act on the city's time.
The Marshal's Office is addressing the matter internally.
This story was originally published by Alex Grant at the E.W. Scripps station KIVI.
