The Santa Rosa Police Department is investigating a claim that one of its officers yelled, “Take off your masks, don’t be slaves” at patrons of a strip mall through a bullhorn while in uniform. A woman posted a TikTok video on Monday of herself at the Santa Rosa Marketplace reacting to the officer’s remarks. Despite his directive, the officer was wearing a mask at the time, she said. The woman said she filed a formal complaint with the department, and the department confirmed it was investigating. She said in the video, “If you’re the cop with the SRPD who was over by Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt using your loudspeaker to tell people to take off their masks because they were acting like slaves, I spoke with your office and they would like to speak with you.” She said she deleted the video after receiving death threats. However, a spokesman for the Santa Rosa PD said, “At this time, we have no indication these comments were made by an SRPD officer. No other shopping center employees or patrons have reported hearing these remarks come from an SRPD patrol vehicle.”
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