Old Cases Of Former Prosecutor Turned Judge Will Be Reviewed By New Orleans DA After Racist Slur Footage Surfaces
New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams and the civil rights division of his office have decided to review all the cases prosecuted by former Assistant District Attorney turned judge Michelle M. Odinet after a video of her saying racist language surfaced and went viral, CNN reports.
Odinet and her family were victims of a car burglary the night of December 11 around 2 a.m. but caught and held the suspect down until officers arrived. The altercation took place when, upon returning home, they saw the suspect getting out of one of the vehicles at the home, Lafayette police said in the statement.
Related: ‘Humiliated, Embarrassed’ Louisiana Judge To Go On Unpaid Leave Following Racist Video Leak
The video in question is a recording of a group of people, who are not visible, inside of their home watching the surveillance footage that captured the outdoor incident on a television while people provide racy commentary.
In the now viral video circulating online, a male voice can be heard saying, "And Mom's yelling n***er, n***er." Then after what sounds like playful banter, a female voice is heard saying, "We have a n ***er, It's a n***er, like a roach," while laughing.
The group continues, at one point even laughing at someone in the surveillance video tripping and someone else losing their wallet.
Then a male voice is heard saying, "That's my phone where it fell out."
"The dude had a phone on him," a female voice chimes in. "You should have taken his phone and stolen from him, that f**king a**hole."
"Go and get the gun," says another. "It's important, very important," says a male voice as the video continues.
It’s still unclear who recorded the video from inside the home or how it became public.
While Odinet took a voluntary unpaid leave of absence last week, she claims she had been "given a sedative" and had no "recollection of the video and the disturbing language used during it," according to a statement last week to CNN affiliate KATC.
"My children and I were the victims of an armed burglary at our home. The police were called, and the assailant was arrested. The incident shook me to my core and my mental state was fragile. I was a wreck and am still unable to sleep. I was given a sedative at the time of the video. I have zero recollection of the video and the disturbing language used during it."
"Anyone who knows me and my husband, knows this is contrary to the way we live our lives. I am deeply sorry and ask for your forgiveness and understanding as my family and I deal with the emotional aftermath of this armed burglary," she added.
Even still, calls for her resignation have been swift and from all sides.
“I don’t know any medicine that makes you call someone an n-word,” Gary Chambers, a Lafayette, Louisiana activist said to CNN Tuesday night. “This judge in the privacy of her home uses the n-word and refer3es to people as roaches — that’s what she views certain people who come into her courtroom as and therefore can not dispense justice equitably,” he continued.
Gov. John Bel Edwards and others have echoed the same sentiments and called for Odinet to resign last week.