A black Georgia State Trooper is gaining fame after a video of him spread widely on social media telling protesters at a Black Lives Matter demonstration he kneels "for one person: God."
The video, which appeared on YouTube and was posted to Twitter by Students for Trump founder Ryan Fournier late Sunday afternoon, shows Trooper O'Neal Saddler working in uniform during the protest in Hartwell, Georgia, a town of less than 5,000 about 100 miles northeast of Atlanta.
Sadler was asked to kneel in a show of respect for the demonstrators, Fox News reported. Kneeling is a gesture started by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kapernick during the playing of the national anthem at NFL games as a protest what he called police brutality against blacks.
"If I didn't have any respect, I wouldn't [be here]," Saddler said. "I was supposed to be out of town this weekend with my wife. I took off today, this weekend, but I'm out here to make sure y'all are safe.
"Don't go there with respect, OK? I have much respect, but I only kneel for one person."
A voice off camera can be heard saying: "And that's God," after which Sadler echoes: "God."
Fournier's Twitter post had more than 49,000 likes and more than 19,000 retweets.
The incident comes after police in several cities joined protesters, angry over the death of a black man, George Floyd, who died in police custody in Minneapolis on Memorial Day.
It also comes as numerous cities are considering "defunding" police because some believe Floyd's death was an example of systemic racism in law enforcement.
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