A Clearwater police officer received a written counseling letter in her personnel file on Monday for using profanity and a derogatory term while questioning three teenage pranksters who were walking around with fake beer mugs on the beach, according to public records.

The YouTube video shows the teens walking past a Clearwater Police cruiser while carrying the fake beer mugs on July 6 at 400 Gulfview Boulevard. Moments later, officer Tanya Reed, 29, stops the teens and she can be heard questioning them on the video.

“Hey, you three," she said. "What are you doing with that?”

“Just hanging out,” a teen replies.

“Just hanging out? What the (expletive) is that in your cup?” Reed asks.

“It’s nothing,” replies a teen.

“It doesn’t look like nothing to me," said Reed.

The teens then flip the mugs to show the officer there's no beer inside. Reed said, "Do you guys seriously think that’s funny?”

While questioning the teens, officer Reed used a few more curse words and called one of them a derogatory term. She eventually lets the teens go after checking their IDs.

Clearwater Police supervisors learned of the incident after the video was posted to YouTube on July 9 and the department began receiving complaint emails about the foul language officer Reed used, according to police.

"Although Officer Reed was intentionally 'pushed' and 'baited' in an effort to illicit a negative response, several of her comments were not professional," Lt. William Valveri wrote in public records. "Please... counsel/educate Officer Reed on maintaining her composure and professionalism at all times, even when being provoked."

The prankster who posted that video, Jack Tenney, 19, said he never wanted to get officer Reen in trouble.

"We weren't there to try and prank police," he said. "I would never wish her to get in any trouble because we are out there filming pranks."

Tenney said he makes a living editing videos in his Indian Rocks Beach home and posting them to his YouTube account called PPJT. The teen's goal is to get as many clicks as possible. The video involving officer Reed has racked up nearly 245,000 views in one week.

"I have taken second place for the most popular YouTuber in Florida," Tenney said. "I actually have a new prank coming out on Tuesday. I'm not going to stop."

Clearwater police spokesman Rob Shaw said the teens are wasting valuable resources when they involve police in their pranks.

"I think the videos are a huge waste of time as far as police go," he said. "Our officers, instead of interviewing three teens that are walking around with fake beer mugs, could've been helping out somebody who actually needed real police service at the beach."

Tenney questions why police stopped the teens for so long.

"They said that we were wasting their time, when honestly I feel she should've just said, 'Oh, that's a prank, whatever,' walk away," he said. "It was a 15 minute interaction with the kids, when they were doing nothing wrong."

A police supervisor wrote that this was an isolated incident and officer Reed will not repeat the behavior, according to the counseling letter that will remain in her personnel file for two years.

Clearwater Police hired Reed in October of 2012 and this is the first time she has been disciplined, according to department records.