Dash cam video of Ramapo police stopping and detaining four black state parole officers has been released.
The four officers were attempting to serve a warrant when they were stopped on April 21, 2014 in Ramapo.
Police say they were responding to a report of armed individuals in bulletproof vests when the men were detained. They say the parole officers should have let police know they were in town, something they are not required to do.
Damon Jones, of the group Blacks in Law Enforcement in America, says the local police appear to have racially profiled the four officers.
"Either they were proving the point that you don't come through our town unless you let us know, or it was racial undertones," he said.
The four officers are suing the Town of Ramapo, the Village of Suffern and Rockland County in federal court. They claim their badges and state identification were clearly visible, as was a placard identifying them.
Town officials say the local cops did nothing wrong. In a statement sent to News 12, Ramapo Town Attorney Michael Klein says Ramapo police acted reasonably under the circumstances.
The suit is making its way through the federal courts in White Plains. There's no word on when or if the case will go to trial.
Town officials had rejected requests from the media for dash cam video of the confrontation, during which the parole officers were briefly held at gun point.
News 12 obtained a DVD of the video through a Freedom of Information request.