Man claims officer insulted his religion

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. (WSVN) -- A South Florida man is accusing a police officer of using some hateful language.

Hubert Higgs, who is a Muslim, claims that a Coral Springs Police officer made a slew of derogatory remarks about his religion when responding to an unfounded complaint about children left unattended at his home. "He said he became a cop to protect white people from the likes of us," said Higgs.

He said the officer went further, saying, "We need to keep tabs on all you [N-word] to make this country safe ... Islam is a religion of [N-word], terrorists, criminals and prisoners ... You are al-Qaeda's Bob Marley."

Higgs said the officer used the language in front of his children. "It was a traumatic experience for them as much as it as a traumatic experience for me," Higgs said.

The incident happened last year, but the council on American-Islamic Relations of Florida is now filing a civil rights complaint with the federal government against Coral Springs Police. CAIR Executive Director Nezar Hamze said, "We believe that a third party needs get involved, and a serious investigation needs to be done."

Higgs agrees. "I feel that this man is a danger," he said, "and that he's a threat to the community, not just to the Muslim community or black community but to the community as a whole."

The officer did arrest Higgs. According to the arrest report, Higgs gave a fake name and said he gave that fake name because he was nervous. Higgs, however, said that this is not true.

The police department is not commenting on the allegations because it has opened up its own investigation.

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