Woman dubbed 'Swing Set Susan' charged with impersonating officer to chase Hispanic teens off playground

The Fort Worth Police Department identified the woman as Samantha Louise Eley, who is not a member of their department.

Oct. 24, 2019, 12:50 PM EDT
By Ethan Sacks

A white woman is under arrest for pretending to be a police officer in an apparent attempt to drive Hispanic teenagers out of a Texas playground in a profanity-laced tirade that was caught on video.

The Fort Worth Police Department identified the woman Wednesday as Samantha Louise Eley, who has been charged with impersonating a public servant in connection with the Oct. 16 confrontation over a swing at the city's Dream Park. The incident has been seen by some as the latest in a spate of incidents across the country in which people of color have been unfairly targeted for imagined infractions.

The exchange at Dream Park was captured in a minutelong video taken by one of the teens, and posted on Twitter just more than an hour after the encounter. It has since been viewed more than 5 million times.

"Well, I’m a f---ing P.D., so get the f--- out of here if you’re not here to play as a child," the woman can be heard yelling at one of the teens who was using a playground swing. "Read the f---ing signs."

Eley, 38, was arrested Monday on an unrelated bond violation charge stemming from a previous arrest in a domestic violence case, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which obtained the arrest warrant.

-snip-