Imagine you and a coworker are the targets of a tantrum by a superior who holds the purse strings way up the food chain in your organization. You are Black; your coworker is white, and the superior happens to be Latina.

She flings four-letter words at you so hard and fast you feel like ducking. Then, she points at you and shouts, “You should be ashamed!” She turns to your white coworker and declares, “You, I would expect this from you.” She proceeds to lecture you on slavery.

Apparently, she is accusing your coworker of being insensitive simply because of her skin color. And because of yours, it seems, you are deemed a traitor.

What should you do? In all likelihood, you’d be on your phone talking to an attorney — in less time than it takes to say Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

And even though it’s far from clear what prompted her meltdown in the first place, you and your lawyers should be able to piece it together — F-bombs and all — because you captured her whole tirade on video.

Which is how much of Denver learned of the story. Yes, it actually happened, just last month — to two Denver police officers fitted with body cameras. By all indicators they were just doing their job — holding the line between demonstrators and authorities trying to take down an illegal homeless camp downtown — when they endured the spontaneous verbal assault.

The perpetrator? Denver City Council member Candi CdeBaca. Yes, the very same political upstart, self-styled firebrand and antagonist at large of the establishment who hasn’t managed to stay out of the news since winning her District 9 seat in north Denver last year.

In an outburst that only can be described as bizarre — and could only be construed as racist — CdeBaca took no prisoners in taking on the two cops. According to news coverage of the incident, she showed up at the Aug. 19 demonstration and demanded to speak with the their supervisor. She then lit into the officers themselves, as reported by Colorado Politics, calling the police “(expletive) guard dogs,” who didn’t know how to read and were only doing what they’re told by Mayor Michael Hancock, whom she called a “dumb (expletive) … who thinks he can just sic his dogs on his own (expletive) people.”

That account comes from a Sept. 4 Equal Employment Opportunity complaint filed by Denver Police Officer Mallory Lutkin with the Denver Board of Ethics. Lutkin was one of the two officers at whom CdeBaca aimed her rage.

It has been pretty clear for some time now that CdeBaca left good judgment behind when she was elected to office atop a wave of populism last year. While she may prefer to be identified with her outspoken views and her over-the-edge policy proposals — like disbanding the city police in favor of a “peace force” — it’s her serious lapses that come to mind here:

Like her refusal last spring amid the COVID-19 pandemic to take furlough days to help spare city coffers, depleted when the shutdown of the economy squeezed municipal revenue.

Or the recent revelation that she had violated campaign-finance laws in her run for office: More than a dozen individual donors to her council bid — including her candidate committee treasurer and the treasurer’s wife — exceeded $1,000, the allowable donation limit at the time.

And then there was her attempt to hire her own spouse for a paid position in her City Council office; she backed off following an outcry.

All of which raises questions about her ethics, to be sure, but it also points to an old political foible — arrogance — you wouldn’t expect in someone so new to office.

And now, this. What does she have to say for herself following her display of blatant bigotry toward not one but two of the races represented within police ranks?

“We will respond once our legal adviser has an opportunity to review it,” a CdeBaca staffer told Colorado Politics in a text message.

That CdeBaca is not ready for prime time in public office should go without saying by now. Arguably, an even more pressing issue at this point is whether she can represent her racially and economically diverse district at all. Her latest run-in isn’t just another embarrassment for her; this time, it’s an affront to her constituents, as well.

Residents of her district may differ over whether CdeBaca’s brand of politics poses the best path toward racial justice and economic opportunity. But all can agree her behavior this time is beneath their dignity. Her continued presence on council mocks those she was elected to represent, and she ought to step down.

The Gazette editorial board