The video, recorded by Hamon Brown, showed officers in Houston, Texas, engaging in reckless driving during a snowstorm, despite advising citizens against such behaviour. Brown said he was shocked by the backlash after the Houston Police Officers’ Union shared photos and videos of him online.

“I ain’t really think it was going to go viral like it did,” Brown said. “Just leave me alone. I don’t want no problems.”

Union president Doug Griffith defended the officers, saying that they were “human”. However, the union mocked Brown on Facebook, highlighting his cracked windshield and reposting videos of him engaging in “ghost-riding”.

“He took it a little serious, and then things went off the rails a little bit,” Griffith said.

Brown said the personal attacks had left him frightened. “It is really messing with me because ya’ll posting all my business on social media. Ya’ll are doing a lot to me and getting me real scared,” he said. “I ain’t did nothing wrong. Ya’ll were in the wrong.”

Kimberly Dodson, a criminology professor at the University of Houston Clear Lake, called the union’s actions textbook retaliation. She warned that such behaviour discourages citizens from reporting police misconduct.