CNN’s Don Lemon, back in the network’s studio after several nights of covering the unrest in Ferguson, Mo., said a member of the National Guard overseeing the demonstrations there used the N-word while speaking with one of his producers.
Lemon said Tuesday that a member of the National Guard — whom he did not identify — was urging the white producer to get out of the area so that the producer would be safe.
Also read: CNN’s Don Lemon and Jake Tapper Flee Tear Gas in Ferguson (Video)
“I’m just going to be honest with you,” Lemon said. “Last night, one of my producers said that they — I won’t say if it’s a he or she, because I don’t want to give anyone away — said that they came in contact with one of the members of the National Guard and that they said, ‘You want to get out of here because you’re white, because these n-words, you never know what they’re going to do.’ True story. I kid you not. 2014, a member of the National Guard. And my producer doesn’t lie. It is a true story.”
Lemon was being asked about a proposal to make police officers wear cameras. Lemon said such a policy might limit the types of people who choose to become officers.
Also read: Ferguson Protestors Throw Rocks at MSNBC’s Chris Hayes During Live Shot (Video)
Lemon and CNN’s Jake Tapper were both pushed by police and had to flee tear gas while covering the protests in Ferguson. Demonstrators are demanding justice for Michael Brown, an 18-year-old unarmed black man who was shot on August 9 by a Ferguson police officer.
Police have arrested dozens, including reporters. The arrests and use of tear gas and rubber bullets have prompted widespread complaints that law enforcement are overreacting to the looting that took place soon after the shooting and the few isolated attacks on officers since then. President Obama has called on protestors to demonstrate peacefully, and for police to respect freedom of speech and the press.
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