A California city official and his wife are under fire for allegedly using racial slurs against an Asian couple on Saturday.
Over the weekend, TikTok user @warmsocks01 shared a clip on the platform showing the offending couple arguing with the person filming the video at Fashion Island shopping mall in Newport Beach, reported SanDiegoVille.
On Twitter, online sleuth @thatdaneshguy re-shared the video and identified the alleged offenders as Coronado’s Recreation and Golf Services Director Roger Miller and Linfield Christian School teacher Sandie Miller.
The incident
The alleged victims, who have asked to remain anonymous, shared in the TikTok post that the Millers told them that the Chinese are spreading COVID-19 and that they are glad that America is not a communist country.
The Asian couple claimed that the Millers also made racist comments before they were filmed in what appears to be the mall’s parking area.
“My girlfriend and I were just shopping around Fashion Island in Newport when a couple walks by us, makes eye contact with looks us, and say ‘oooh COVID is gonna get you,’ ‘those Chinese spreading COVID,’ and continuously talks between them but purposely loud enough for us to hear the racial slurs and comments,” the man who filmed the incident was quoted as saying.
The Millers then allegedly went on to verbally abuse another Asian couple with a baby who passed them by.
“As we walk behind them, the couple continues to be racist saying ‘go back to China,’ ‘stop spreading COVID,’ ‘oooh look at me touching the stair railing I’m gonna die from all the germs,’ ‘I’m glad we’re not communist,’ ‘those Chinese.’ When we confronted them, they saw no fault in their actions and instead proudly and continuously blurt out racial commentaries attacking us,” the victims shared.
In the viral video, the person behind the camera asked Roger if the comments were directed at him and his girlfriend, he replied, “Yeah, maybe could be.”
“I love that we are not communism — I love that very much,” Sandie can be heard saying. She also yelled back, “America is a free country” and “Go back to China!”
Roger and Sandie can also be seen flipping off the couple as they drove away.
The aftermath
A day after the incident, Coronado City Manager Tina Friend released a statement about an ongoing investigation but declined to “discuss specifics” with the case being a “personnel matter.”
“The City became aware of a recording of a City employee and alleged comments made,” reads the statement. “As this is a personnel matter, I cannot discuss specifics at this point. This is a serious matter and I am taking appropriate action. The City of Coronado is a welcoming place for all.”
Roger, who was not named in the statement, has been a city employee, since 2009 and the director of Coronado’s Recreation and Golf Services department since 2015.
In a response to a Facebook post, Linfield Christian School released a similar statement: “Linfield Christian School has become aware of a video recording that features comments made by one of our employees. As this is a personnel issue, we can not discuss specifics at this time, but we recognize it is a serious matter, and we are taking immediate action to look into it.”
Featured Image via @thatdaneshguy
