‘Racist’ video spurs push to oust Fla. official

updated 8:41 p.m. ET Feb. 23, 2005

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Six black lawmakers Wednesday called for the removal of the head of the state’s juvenile justice department for showing a Chris Rock video at a meeting with NAACP leaders.

One lawmaker called the 4-minute skit — How To Not Get Your Ass Kicked By The Police — “absolutely racist.” An NAACP member at the viewing last July said no one complained.

The skit, which came from Rock’s former HBO comedy show, was shown in the office of Juvenile Justice Secretary Anthony Schembri — the former head of New York City’s jails who was the model for the 1991-1995 offbeat television show “The Commish.”

Rock’s tips for young blacks include driving with a white friend and turning down loud rap music when pulled over. The video also shows scenes where actors dressed as police pretend to beat up blacks who didn’t follow Rock’s advice — a driver who jumps out of his car during a traffic stop and starts yelling profanities, and a man who jumps a subway turnstile while smoking marijuana and carrying a gun.

“I found this as being totally and absolutely racist, there’s no way around it,” said Democratic state Sen. Mandy Dawson, who was joined by five other black lawmakers. “It doesn’t make sense to me to show this type of video under any circumstances to the NAACP.”

Schembri’s spokesman, Tom Denham, said the video was part of a discussion on racial profiling. He said Schembri, who is white, previously used it when teaching college courses as a way to open up discussion on profiling.

“The secretary is a very colorful and unusual man and he likes to push the envelope and get people to think about things,” Denham said, adding the video was never meant to be used to train staff and administrators, as the lawmakers alleged.

“I would like to apologize. I did not mean to offend anyone,” Schembri said through a spokesman.

William H. Booth, a retired New York City judge and an NAACP member, said he was at the meeting and no one complained about the video. He said Schembri used it as an example of how the media can contribute to attitudes about profiling.

“I’ve never known him to be prejudiced in any way,” said Booth, who knew Schembri in New York. “I don’t think he’s got a racial bone in his body.”

Rock’s publicists would not comment.

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