Bellevue, Idaho — A police officer in Idaho has been suspended after posting a video on social media mocking NBA star LeBron James. Deputy Nate Silvester with the Bellevue Marshal’s Office uploaded a parody video to his TikTok account that showed him calling James for consultation before intervening in an imaginary attempted stabbing occurring outside his cruiser.
According to The Idaho Mountain Express, after the video went viral, a citizen filed a complaint against Silvester with the Marshal’s Office on Monday.
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The department allegedly launched an investigation and also allegedly suspended him, according to BPR. Bellevue Mayor Ned Burns confirmed to the Mountain Express only that Bellevue Marshal Mynde Heil “will be handling the situation” going forward.
A statement from the Bellevue Marshal’s Office stated, “The statements made do NOT represent the Bellevue Marshal’s Office. The Bellevue Marshal’s Office always demands that our Deputies engage with our citizens in a friendly and professional manner. This is NOT how we expect our Deputies to act on duty or use city time.”
Watch Silvester’s TikTok video below:
The video begins with Silvester in his police cruiser pretending to be speaking with dispatch.
“Dispatch, I’ve arrived at that disturbance. Would you have LeBron call me at my cell phone right away please? Thank you,” he says.
He then directs his attention to the people outside his cruiser.
“Excuse me, sir. Excuse me. Can you put that knife down please, sir. No, no, don’t stab him. Stop stabbing him. Hold on. It’s LeBron,” he says.
Silvester then picks up his phone to speak with James.
“LeBron, hey, yeah, it’s me again. Yeah, I’m out here at this disturbance call, and there’s a guy trying to stab another guy with a knife,” he says.
Silvester then goes quiet for a second as James speaks to him.
“Why does that matter? Well, they’re both black. One guy is trying to stab another guy with a knife. Deadly force is completely justified,” he continues a moment later.
After another brief silence, Silvester continues speaking.
“Uh huh… I see. So you don’t care if a black person kills another black person, but you do care if a white cop kills a black person even if he’s doing it to save the life of another black person. I mean, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but then again, you are really good at basketball, so I guess I’ll take your word for it,” he says.
He then concludes the call.
“Alright, yep, OK, thanks LeBron. Michael Jordan is the GOAT. What? Nothing. I gotta go,” he says.
The clip concludes with him driving off as he tells the people outside his cruiser, “Sorry guys, you’re on your own. Good luck!”
To our knowledge, the Bellevue Marshal’s Office has not made a public statement on the alleged suspension but multiple sources are reporting on it.
Deputy Silvester’s video parody was a response to LeBron’s vile tweet about the officer who shot Ma’Khia Bryant, a 16-year-old black Ohio teen who was trying to stab another black girl.
