Erie, Pa., officer seen mocking murder victim in drunken YouTube rant to patrol again soon

Erie, Pa., officer seen mocking victim returning

ERIE, Pa. — The police chief in Erie, Pa., says a white officer videotaped mocking a black murder victim and his family in a drunken barroom rant will soon return to patrol duty.

Officer James Cousins II has been restricted to desk duty since he returned from an unpaid, 10-day suspension May 7. He has apologized to the dead man’s family for the eight-minute rant in which he joked about the killing and mocked the reaction of the dead man’s mother. Someone in the bar caught the monologue on video and posted it to YouTube.

Chief Steve Franklin says Cousins was cleared by a fitness-for-duty evaluation that included psychological testing. Franklin wouldn’t specify when Cousins will return to duty, but says he expects it soon.

Information from: Erie Times-News, www.goerie.com