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Man Says Orlando Officer Used Racial Slurs During Traffic Stop

Thursday, August 28, 2008 – updated: 6:29 pm EDT August 28, 2008

There are new accusations of bad behavior within the Orlando police force. This time, an officer was accused of berating a driver with racial slurs during a traffic stop. The driver filed a complaint.

"I've had them since '98," James Peak told Eyewitness News.

Peak paid $500 ten years ago to get a set of gold teeth. He's proud of his "grill" and doesn't regret his decision. But he feels he was treated poorly by Orlando Police Officer Seth James.

"He said, 'Every time I see you, I'll pull you over, because I don't like you,'" Peak told Eyewitness News.

Last year, Officer James was accused of crossing the line for arresting a Copwatch camerman taping a DUI incident.

In this case, Peak said James pulled him over two times in a three-week period for running a red light. The second time he was pulled over, Peak said James used the n-word and said he didn't like his teeth.

"'I don't like white boy n*****-loving punks like you,'" Peak said James told him. "I was very offended."

Peak said, after he got his ticket, James took his keys and threw them. He said he didn't want him to drive. Both traffic tickets were dropped, but Peak decided to file a complaint because he was upset by the officer's behavior.

It was Officer James' 15th complaint since 2005. In an Internal Affairs report, James denied he ever made any racial comments. Investigators said they could not prove he made the racial remarks, but said he did violate standards of conduct for the way he treated Peak. He was given an oral reprimand.

"I was brave enough to go and confront his supervisors about this, but I'm sure he's done it to other people," Peak said.

For months, Eyewitness News has followed the growing number of internal investigations into alleged bad behavior on the force.

The brief suspension Officer Fernando Trinidad received for pushing a woman provoked death threats against the department due to outrage at the minimal punishment. The state attorney is now considering charges.

Officer Wayne Costa recently pled guilty to a misdemeanor for beating a suspect, but will serve no jail time.

Officer Jonathan Cute was involved in a deadly shooting, shocking a driver with a Taser and beating a prostitution suspect. He was cleared in the first case. The other two cases are in court.

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