Hector Rosado, an eight-year veteran of the Orange Police Department who worked as a patrol officer was let go by the mayor for tweets dating back to January.
According to the mayor's office, 29-year-old Rosado used the N-word several times and also criticized the city itself.
Orange Mayor Eldridge Hawkins, Jr. said in a statement:
"It is very disappointing to hear that one of our officers was openly involved in offensive, insubordinate and racially charged behavior in the public online chat room forum known as Twitter, where he was known to be a police officer. Many individuals have been offended by the officer's callous use of the word "N****az" and/or variations of same. His direct insubordination of publicly cursing the very City for whom he works is also of great concern. The officer's behavior shows a lack of professionalism and ethnic sensitivity.
Residents of Orange should rest assured that this type of behavior will not be tolerated and officers will continue to be held to a high standard. We cannot take the chance that racist remarks be translated into such behavior on the job. As the Mayor of an Urban/Suburban City, I am not comfortable with having our culturally diverse city placed in the position that it is to be protected by those who have brazenly disrespected our community, culture and the police uniform in this way. Although this conduct is a disgrace, it is not reflective of the good conduct of the vast majority of our officers."
Rosado sat down with Eyewitness News Friday evening, but his attorney would not let him talk about the specifics of the case.
However, Rosado said he expected to receive a 10-day suspension for the tweets.
In fact, that is what the hearing officer recommended as a punishment.
Rosado says he was shocked when his was told to turn in his badge.
"Being that we had already gotten the recommendation from the hearing officer for the 10 days, I felt comfortable with that and that wasn't what happened," Rosado said.
Rosado and his attorney say they are looking into ways to get his job back.
