The vice mayor of Pompano Beach apologized Tuesday after she was caught on camera cursing at a Fort Lauderdale officer during a traffic stop.
Vice Mayor Beverly Perkins offered her apology at a heated city commission meeting that saw one man get escorted out by deputies and a shouting match outside.
"If any exchange on my part in the conversation with the police officer is perceived as being disrespectful then I do apologize. Thank you," Perkins said.
The traffic stop involving Perkins happened in April but went viral after it was recently shared on social media.
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"I am Vice Mayor Beverly Perkins from the city of Pompano Beach, y’all need to find something better to f-----g do," Perkins tells the officer in the video before driving off.
The officer had issued Perkins a warning for speeding after she was clocked going 60 miles an hour in a 40-mile-an-hour zone.
Her behavior struck a nerve with many officers, and several attended Tuesday's meeting where the attorney for Fort Lauderdale's police union vented their frustrations.
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"As an elected official who believes that they are above the law, you do not deserve to be in office or hold the title of vice mayor," attorney Beverly Stern said.
Residents of Pompano Beach also chimed in during the meeting.
"What was going on behind her? She could’ve had a problem at home or something, we all say things that we don’t mean, and like she did, she is woman enough to apologize," one woman said.
"I understand that you apologized just a few moments ago, saying if it was perceived as being disrespectful, vice mayor, it was disrespectful," another woman said.
