Leominster Police Officer Fired For Racial Slur Against Carl Crawford
LEOMINSTER (CBS) - The Leominster police officer accused of aiming racial slurs at Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford was fired Thursday.
Officer John Perrault allegedly called Crawford a "Monday," a seldom-used racial slur, during a minor league game in New Hampshire on July 5.
He was placed on leave last week and faced a disciplinary hearing Wednesday.
In a letter to Perrault Thursday morning, Leominster mayor Dean Mazzarella said:
"Your actions are so egregious that severe discipline is warranted. There is simply no place for your behavior in the workplace and there is no place for someone who exhibits such objectionable behavior in the Leominster Police Department, or any City department, for that matter."
"As a law enforcement officer the City expects and demands that you comport yourself in an exemplary fashion. As a sworn police officer you are held to a high standard. Your actions have not lived up to that high standard. You have demonstrated through your racist comments that you cannot continue as a patrol officer with the Leominster Police Department."
Read: Mayor Mazzarella's Letter (.pdf)
"Your actions are in violation of the Department Rules, have brought discredit upon you and the Leominster Police Department, and have disqualified you from being able to serve as a police officer for this City. You are hereby terminated from employment, effective immediately."
Perrault, who did not speak at Wednesday's hearing, insisted through his lawyer that his comments had no racial connotation.
"It was never intended as a racial slur. It was intended to disparage a ballplayer who was having a bad stretch, not hitting the ball, and a fan simply criticizing him," said Perrault's attorney Joe Sandulli.
Sandulli told WBZ-TV Thursday that they are weighing their options for an appeal.
At the hearing Wednesday, it was revealed that Perrault has been accused of making racially insensitive remarks in the past.
He allegedly bragged about heckling Crawford on his Facebook page and surrounded the post with other racial slurs.
During the investigation into Perrault's alleged remarks, other officers said they often heard him use the "n-word" repeatedly to describe black basketball players while watching a game on TV.
It was also revealed that Perrault allegedly made a derogatory racial remark at a bar on St. Patrick's Day, nearly causing a fight.
Crawford is looking to move past the July 5th incident.
"I'm not pleased with being called that name, I'm trying to put it behind me," he told WBZ Newsradio 1030's Jonny Miller Wednesday.
